ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 904 / C&RL News ■ October 2001 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s newsDisplay cases for academic libraries Ten tips for display case persons by Susan Brazer and Andrea Wyman M ost of us recognize th e job title of “dis­ play case p e rso n ,” yet w h e n som eone asks for a v olunteer to actually take o n the regular responsibilities, e v e iy o n e suddenly takes an interest in their shoes. D oing displays is a job dreaded, passed aro u n d (especially to th e n ew est hire), a n d a task m ost likely to be accom panied by a small budget, little support, a n d less enthusiasm . In short, the job o f display case p erso n has b e e n k n o w n to age o r dism ay ev en the m ost enthusiastic or stalwart librarian. Fellow display case persons or display case draftees! Take heart in w h at w e h o p e will be a fresh look at a som etim es dreaded, fre­ quently avoided, a n d baffling task. We may not b e able to w arm y our heart to the job, b u t w e can offer advice for w ays to refresh the task o f filling those glass-sided storage cases w ith objects a n d im ages to show case your library. O ur offering of te n tips covers the follow­ ing: h o w to develop resources, technicalities to consider, suggestions for m aking the m ost of w h a t’s o n hand, and shortcuts to w h a t’s “free.” We will also look at a w ay to form al­ ize th e position to exhibits curator or display coordinator. 1. T w o h e a d s a r e b e t t e r t h a n o n e . Speaking from e x p e rien c e , b e in g “display p e rs o n ” is o n e o f the loneliest jobs on cam ­ pus. If possible, w e recom m end trying to find a colleague in a sim ilar situation. T h a t’s ho w w e got started, a n d o u r tw o h ead s are better th an o n e p h ilo so p h y has paid off any n u m ­ b e r o f tim es. B etw een the tw o of us, w e h ad ab o u t eight years o f on-the-job display his­ tory, yet the first time w e shared our thoughts, w e b e g a n exchan g in g ideas a n d W eb a d ­ d resses of n e w sites for free m aterials. Sud­ denly doing displays felt fresh again. 2. D o e s y o u r lib r a r y h a v e a d is p l a y p o lic y ? “A w hat?” you reply. T h a t’s right, ask if y o u r library has a display policy. If not, w e suggest drafting one. A typical dis­ play policy can cover a m ultitude o f things: p u rp o se , scheduling, external req u e st poli­ cies, exhibitor responsibility, security, or even restrictions. Exam ples o f “p u r p o s e ” from tw o librar­ ies include providing “a forum for th e free exchange of ideas th ro u g h th e visual arts” (California State University San Marcos Library) o r “to in crease stu d en t, staff, a n d faculty aw areness of library holdings, services, a n d events; to educate patrons on the use of the library and its facilities; to highlight special holidays or calendar events o f local o r n a ­ tional im portance, especially as they relate to library resources; a n d in general to entertain About the authors Susan B razer is science reference lib ra ria n a t th e B la ckw e ll L ib ra ry o f Salisbury State U n iversity in M aryland, e-m ail: sebrazer@ssu.edu, and Andrea Wyman is the governm ent documents librarian a t the Louis L. Manderino LibraryatCalifornia University o f Pennsylvania, e-mail: wyman_a@cup.edu mailto:sebrazer@ssu.edu mailto:wyman_a@cup.edu C&RLNews ■ October 2001 / 905 and to enlighten patrons” (Winthrop Univer­ sity). Probably one of the most important as­ pects of having a policy is to provide guide­ lines for individuals outside the library w ho may be placing materials in library cases.1 One o f o u r fav o rite s is th e p o lic y from th e Williamsburg (Virginia) Regional Library: Library displays are used to prom ote materials, services, an d /o r events. Staff select the topics, materials, and dates for displays based on community and seasonal interests. Display suggestions from the public are welcome, but their use is not guaranteed. Details, such as w hether a display case is locked, how long a display remains in the case, or even w ho has the right to deny the placem ent of a display in the library, can be easily and clearly covered in such a policy. An added policy step for some libraries also involves “applying” for exhibit space, which can be easily handled with an application form. 3. Set g o a ls fo r y o u r d is p la y s . W hen w e first started our display careers, w e w orked in libraries that had no policy in place. We intuitively responded by developing our own goals and found that they helped keep us focused. The following is a com bination of our two lists: • m arket library m aterials and holdings, • p ro m o te circulation and use, • brin g to g e th e r interests o f stu d en ts, faculty a n d com m unity, • u se th e displays as a v e n u es to e d u ­ cate, inform a n d entertain, • c h a n g e c a se d isp la y s o n a r o u tin e b a s is (at le a s t e v e ry six -to -e ig h t w e e k s ), a n d • m ake sure library-derived displays are given first priority. 4 . R e m e m b e r : F la ir f o r t h e jo b h a s lit t le o r n o t h in g t o d o w it h s u c c e s s . Even though a recent ACRL survey by found that “exhibit responsibilities are often assigned by default to staff m em bers w ho have a flair for the doing the w o rk ,”2 w e disagree. Flair is nice, but it will not pull you out of your pit of despair w hen you are staring at an em pty display case. What will w ork is developing a set of re­ sources: people w ho have collections, h ob­ bies, or w ho travel, etc. We also check lists of Web sites from libraries around the world that provide images of their displays. O ne of our favorites comes from the Uni­ versity of Waterloo on the subject of Boars. T heir to n g u e-in -c h e ek topics tickled our funnybones: “Origins of the Boar in Art His­ tory,” “The Boar in the News,” and “The Boar at the University of W aterloo.”3 Books and Web sites provide helpful vi­ suals th at m ay sp a rk an idea for a display case. Even an o ld e r title, such as Mona G arvey’s 1969 book, Library D isplays Their Purpose, C onstruction a n d Use, sh o u ld not be sum m arily dism issed b ecau se of its age. T he section on design co m p o n e n ts p ro ­ vides c o n crete ex am p les of ho w sh a p es a n d w h ite sp a ce can effectively sh o w off y o u r m essage. The GODORT (governm ent docum ents) Web site has an entire sectio n d e v o te d to photos of exhibits and displays just for gov­ e rn m e n t d o c u m e n ts .1 This W eb site is a great reso u rce for finding o u t w h at o th er colleag u es are do in g w ith o u t going any farther th an y o u r ow n com puter. We found tw o sections from the site particularly h e lp ­ ful: “H ow Can I Make My D isplays More Attractive?” a n d “H ow Can I Share My D is­ plays?” 5. U se w h a t y o u h a v e . W hat a coinci­ dence it was w hen we found out that one of our professors in the Economics Department Ten tips fo r library displays/ exhibits 1. Two heads are better than one. 2. Find out about your library’s display policy. 3. Set goals for your displays. 4. Remember: Flair for the job has noth­ ing to do with success. 5. Use w hat you have. 6. Comb the local community. 7. Keep track of your displays. 8. Check out international days, holi­ days, a n d o rg an iz atio n -b a se d days or events. 9. Make use of the ALA Web site. 10. Become an exhibits curator. 906 / C&RL News ■ October 2001 The Banned Books display case was covered w ith brown paper, then "peak holes" were ripped open to view the banned books, and strips o f paper displayed book titles and author names fo r the 100 most frequently banned books in the United States. c o lle cte d m echanical b a n k s . H is h o b b y tu rn e d out to b e our g o o d fo rtu n e , so to speak. We w orked the display to focus on the banks and antique toys, and once w ord got out about the antique toys, people volunteered to bring in other antique toys they had at home. L i k e w i s e , we recommend using other d e­ p a rtm e n ts on campus. These d a y s, m a n y b u ild in g s are running out of space and have items that d e ­ p artm ents are forced to store in a basem ent or w arehouse. We recently un­ earthed pairs of old shoes that a former, world­ traveling science professor put in the library basem ent w hen he retired. The shoes ended up getting used in a case for the children’s collection along with books on ballet shoes, tap dancing, and costumes. And, most importantly, w e suggest devel­ oping good contacts with people in the th e­ ater department. They w ork with props ev­ ery day, and if they d o n ’t have som ething for you to display, they’re magnificent contacts for finding other people, accessing costumes, or recommending acceptable facsimiles when the real thing is not available. 6. C o m b th e lo c a l c o m m u n ity . Is there a famous historian residing in town? A politi­ cian w ho has been in office for m ore than 50 years? A faculty m em ber w ho specializes in medieval battle gear? These people can be w onderful resources for displays, and they often have interesting stories and m em ora­ bilia that w ould otherwise not be seen. There may also be something special about the lo­ cal community itself: industry, geography, his­ tory, or people. W h a t a b o u t lo c a l happenings? Pennsylva­ nia has always been fa­ m ous for coal mining, and a recent new spaper article revealed some in­ teresting history about a coal seam u n d e r one to w n th a t h a s b e e n burning for the last 30 years. This tiny thread of information is just the right start for a dis­ play. The next step is to track dow n new s­ paper articles, original street signs, a n d other memo­ rabilia for an e x h ib it on “The Burning of Centralia.” We a ls o re c o m m e n d collaborating with your lo­ cal historical society. W hen w e unearthed a 1897 graduation gown from an old filing cabi­ net in the basem ent, w e called the local his­ torical society for help. Their archivist m ade a house call and assisted us in the display of the dress with acid-free stuffed paper, then she donated a special acid-free storage box for use once w e finished with the exhibit. Working together, w e discussed other collabo­ rative exhibits incorporating their materials with ours and ended up sharing resources in future projects. 7 . K e e p tr a c k o f y o u r d is p la y s . D on’t be bashful about docum enting your work. Take lots of pictures from various angles (digi­ tal cameras are w onderful for this), and put up a Web site listing everything y ou’ve done and your personal contact information. Not only does this help you keep track of things and prevent you from doing the same dis­ play topic twice, but it also reveals the diver­ sity of cases that the library has sponsored. Plus, with your nam e and Web address, you can be reached for questions, suggestions for future displays, or even kudos. C&RL News ■ October 2001 / 907 Keep a calendar with dates, display to p ­ ics, and individuals or groups responsible. A Web site d eveloped for such a p urpose can b e included in the library h om epage un d er the “W hat’s N ew ” section.5 8. C h e c k o u t in t e r n a t io n a l d a y s, h o l i ­ d a y s , a n d o r g a n iz a t io n - b a s e d d a y s o r e v e n t s . Did you know abo u t the Pursuit of H a p p in e s s W eek, B a n n e d B o o k W eek, Kwanzaa, Diabetes Awareness Month, the A n n u a l B a ld is B e a u tif u l C o n v e n tio n , Trinidad Carnival Week, Nellie Blye’s Birth­ day, the 225th Anniversary of th e Declara­ tion of Ind ep en d en ce Approval and Sign­ ing, or National Safe Kid Week? We d id n ’t either, but once w e got started and checked C hase’s C alendar o f Events, w e h ad m ore days and events than w e could use in a life­ time. We should also add that the best part about using C hase’s is that it provides nam es and addresses and ways to contact som e of the lesser-known organizations. For example, w e b e t y o u d id n ’t k n o w th a t th e B aby B oom er’s Recognition Day falls on Ju n e 21 or that th ere’s an actual person in New Jer­ sey to contact about it. 9 . M a k e u s e o f t h e ALA W eb s i t e . T hree areas on th e ALA Web site p ro v id e p o ten tia l for displays a n d exhibits: News a n d A n n o u n c e m e n ts , C o n fe re n c e s a n d Events, a n d This W eek’s N ew s a n d An­ n o u n c e m e n ts .6 O n e of o u r m ost su ccess­ ful exhibits cam e from th e B an n ed B ook W eek inform ation w e fo u n d at th e Library P ro m o tio n al Events link. Even though w e did not purchase the press kit that w as of­ fered, w e u se d all the resources ALA p ro ­ vided (such as quotes about intellectual free­ dom and lists of books and materials) to cre­ ate o ur own. The ALA Conferences and Events section also provides good jum ping-off points for display ideas as does This W eek’s News and A nnouncem ents. A nother w ay to use ALA resources is to w atch its Public Programs Of­ fice link for traveling exhibit opportunities. The “B eyond W ords” traveling exhibit, re­ cently listed, features photographs captur­ ing the “magic of libraries” a n d “how librar­ ies help people of all ages achieve the Ameri­ can dream , navigate their w ay through the R em em ber: F la ir f o r th e jo b has little o r n o th in g to d o w ith su cce ss . . . . F la ir is nice, b u t it w ill not p u ll y o u o u t o f y o u r p it o f d e s p a ir w h e n y o u are s ta rin g a t an e m p ty d is p la y case. inform ation highway, and access all sorts of resources w ith the personal assistance of a librarian.” A d e scrip tio n o f th e n e e d e d sp a ce for th e traveling ex h ib it w as p ro v id e d a n d li­ braries w illing to host th e display w ere e n ­ c o u ra g e d to apply. The cost of sh ip p in g th e exhibit to its next location w as the only e x p en se. 10. B e a n e x h ib it s c u r a to r o r d is p la y c o o r d in a to r . Displays take a lot of time and hard work. O ur thinking th en is: “W hy not include a formal description of all the w ork that it involves as part o f your job descrip­ tion?” O ther libraries have shared their posi­ tion descriptions7, and, while w e found them helpful, w e w anted to m ake som e adjust­ ments. First, w e recom m end that the title be con­ sidered separately. After exam ining all the position titles from the ACRL survey, w e re­ alized that not one of them w as actually a separate “display” or “curator” title; all the individuals handling displays w ere doing so w ith these responsibilities tacked onto ex­ isting job titles, such as circulation/reference librarian, special collections assistant, refer­ ence assistant, or archivist. Make it clear by your title that you are responsible for exhib­ its or displays. That said, tw o titles w e think fit the bill are either exhibits curator or display coordi­ nator. They both carry som e weight and pro­ vide en o u g h scope to m ake the details of the job seem w orthy of all the hard w ork that goes into it. To express the correspond­ ing job responsibilities, w e again turned to the ACRL survey. A fte r l o o k i n g a t M o o r h e a d S ta te University’s exam ple, w e thought it had p o ­ tential b u t n e e d e d e x p an sio n : Responsible f o r c o o r d in a tin g a n d i n itia tin g lib ra ry 908 / C&RL News ■ October 2001 newsletter a n d displays. The B ow doin Col­ lege description came a little closer and ad­ dressed m ore of the tasks involved: Design a n d write exhibition m aterial a n d place ex ­ hibits in cases a n d other display areas. We believe a m ore robust, cut-and-paste position description is likely to receive ad­ ministrative support and might read som e­ thing like this: Title: Exhibits Curator D e s c r ip t io n o f D u tie s a n d R e s p o n s i­ b ilitie s : Create and m aintain appropri­ ate exhibits in library display cases. Schedule and plan all library exhibits or touring exhibits. Change displays or ex­ hibits in a timely manner. Prepare sup­ porting materials, i.e., signs, press re­ leases, and Web pages for exhibits or displays. With the job more carefully defined, a good set of resources at hand, and another person to share and trade ideas, w e think the role of display case person has the potential to move out of the “dreaded task” category. And if y o u ’re alone a n d out there struggling with displays at your library, w hy not contact one of us as a start? We look fotw ard to hearing from you because w e know from experience that w e ’ve gotten some of our best ideas from other display coordinators or exhibit curators. N otes 1. Jane Kemp and Laura Witschi, Displays a n d Exhibits in College Libraries, ACRL Clip Note #25 (Chicago, ACRL, 1997). 2. Ibid., 23. 3. See h ttp ://w w vclib.uw aterloo.ca/tour/ boar/BoarContents. htm l. 4. Visit http://w w w .lib.m ankato.m sus.edu/ lib/govdoc/proj/tutorials/finalfront2. htm. 5. Two exam ples of library display Web sites are http://www.salisbury.edu/library/Dis- plays/display_cases.htm from the Blackwell Library at Salisbury State U niversity a n d h ttp ://w w w .lib ra ry .u c la .e d u /lib ra rie s /u rl/ urlexhibits/calendar.htm from the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA. 6. Visit h ttp://w w w .ala.org. 7. Kemp and Witschi, Displays a n d Ex­ hibits in College Libraries. ■ ( “Taking tim e . . . c o n tin u ed fr o m p a g e 902) organizational retreats, the library currently seem s to b e u nique in its willingness to d e ­ vote a substantial am ount o f time to the or­ ganization and developm ent of its staff. It is not a perfect m odel, but it seem s to be w ork­ ing and, for now , will continue to be fol­ lowed. The organizational w e e k b egan as a re­ sponse to the change in organizational struc­ ture. The organizational w eeks are contin­ u e d as tw eaks are m ade in that structure for im provem ent and future developm ent. The library environm ent will be constantly chang­ ing, a n d this tool is effective in m eeting the dem ands of the changing environm ent. As in any journey, there will be bum ps, curves, and detours; but the ro ad will still take us to new adventures and exciting challenges as w e m ove forw ard in the 21st century. N o te s 1. Randall R. Richards, “Crafting a dynamic board retreat: H ow to set the stage for stra­ tegic thinking,” Association M a n a g em e n t 50 Gan. 1998): 93. 2. Geoffrey Jam es, Business W isdom o f the Electronic Elite (New York: Times Busi­ ness, 1996), 57. 3. Janice Kirkland and Linda S. Dobb, “The retreat as a resp o n se to c h a n g e ,” Library Trends 37 (spring 1989): 496. 4. N orbert Lewandosski, “Retreat to com ­ p e te ,” Ohio CPA Journal 56 (July-Septem ­ b e r 1997): 44. A d d it io n a l re s o u rc e s Cuff, E. Dale, and Gisela Webb, “Staff re­ treats in ACRL libraries,” College & Research Libraries News 49 (Sept. 1988): 517-21. Dobb, Linda S., “Four retreats and a fo­ rum: A m editation on retreats as a response to change,” Library Trends 47 (spring 1999): 699-713. Nanus, Bert, “Leading the vision team ,” F uturist 30 (M ay/June 1996): 20-24. Stern-Dunyak, Alison, and Jane Sanders, “Moving forw ard with a retreat,” Æ soc/ririon M anagem ent 52 (Dec. 2000): 49-51. ■ http://wwvclib.uwaterloo.ca/tour/ http://www.lib.mankato.msus.edu/ http://www.salisbury.edu/library/Dis-plays/display_cases.htm http://www.salisbury.edu/library/Dis-plays/display_cases.htm http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/ http://www.ala.org