Last year I ran the popular Blind Date with a Book display at the Forest Heights branch of Kitchener Public Library. I created a mixture of adult, teen, and children’s books, and found that they all flew off the shelves! I’ve enjoyed looking through other librarian’s interpretations of Blind Date with a Book on ALA Think Tank. This year, I decided to stick with the hand drawn approach – and it was great!

By wrapping the books in kraft paper, hand writing the descriptive blurbs, and giving a little extra thought to the design on the front, I’ve been able to create a unique browsing experience for each patron. People love not judging books by their covers! (And librarians love guessing what I’ve wrapped.)

Welcome to Night Vale

The Post Birthday World

I’ve seen two clear trends while looking at other libraries’ displays – giving lots of details and appeal information and giving very little. I definitely lean towards giving lots of detail – books are so intricate and nuanced. Just because someone loves mysteries doesn’t mean they’ll love Jo Nesbo. I also tried to hint towards the cover design in my wrapping design – because it makes it a fun riddle, but also because people might be less likely to chose a book they’ve already read if they recognize the cover design.

I tried to make all the adult fiction in black sharpie, all the children’s in red and black, and all the YA fiction in red, blue, and black. I also wrote “Kid’s novel” or “YA novel” on the wrappings.

Downloadable Resources:

Don’t have time or need some inspiration? Download my list of 2016 Blind Date With a Book Blurbs (including adult, teen, and children’s novels) and feel free to use them in your library!

More Blind Date With a Book Images:

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Check out the piece I wrote for Oxford University Press about Blind Date with a Book and Readers Advisory. For more library display ideas, check out my Display Ideas Page. Happy blind book dating!