It's Lit

Pop-up book displays attract attention to library content

by Clay V. Trainum

A common misconception about Walker Library and academic libraries in general is that there isn’t support for recreational reading.

As the library started to return to normal business in the last couple of years, Kristen West and the team from User Services began to feature some of these books and online offerings through pop-up collections on the first floor as well as online.

“People often think of a university library as a place that is buying books to support you in classes and your research, but recreational reading can also be an important part of the university experience,” said West, interim department chair for User Services.

“We were talking about recreational reading as a library, and we felt that it was sometimes hard for users to find recreational reading. So the idea was to use topical and special displays to help showcase some of the offerings that we have.”

There are nearly 700,000 books available in the physical library, but more than a million are at the fingertips of any online user. And the collection is intended to serve both an in-person and online audience—each pop-up exhibit has a corresponding website that features related ebooks, podcasts, and available streaming media.

“It kind of evolved naturally because before we did that first display, we had already done a purely online collection,” said West, who usually builds the website for each exhibit. “I had already been doing rotating ebook shelves for recreational reading, so we just started to incorporate those into our collection websites.”

Picking a Topic

That first foray into pop-up collections was an online exhibit that featured history and context into the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

From there it was decided that perhaps a physical display could be useful as well. So, coinciding with last fall’s opening of MTSU’s new Concrete and Construction Management Building, the first book display was a "Celebration of Concrete."

“That was probably one of our most visually interesting displays, and we’ve tried to find a good mix of fun subjects, topical displays, and ones that line up with particular months,” West said.

While West has spearheaded many of the projects, help has come from every facet of the building. Special collections librarian Susan Martin worked on an exhibit to highlight the library’s Distilling, Fermenting, and Brewing Collection. Inclusion and education librarian Jordan Nielsen created an exhibit featuring the historical contributions of drag performances, and the whole library was involved in submitting recommendations for staff picks.

“It’s become a collaborative process with the library, from coming up with a topic to figuring out the content that matches with it,” West said.

Drawing Notice

The displays and exhibits have also been a venue for driving student engagement. The most memorable component of February’s Black History Month collection featured an opportunity for visitors to write a figure from Black history that they admire. By the end of the month, the board was filled with names of figures from around the world that students, faculty, and staff could look to for inspiration.

One of the biggest contributors to all the displays has been Keneisha Mosley, who has helped in designing and setting up nearly every exhibit since the program started.

“I have a bit of a background in archives and curation, so it’s fun for me to try and put something together that will catch a patron’s eye,” Mosley said.

“It’s also an outlet for me to kind of see what’s in our collection as well. I spend a lot of time with students at the reference desk, so I’m more focused on helping them with research. This project has let me see a lot of books we have in this library that I wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.” And students can now know more about those resources for outside enjoyment, too.

Learn more

To check out the latest book exhibit, visit the commons area located just beyond the elevators on the library’s first floor, or check out the website at library.mtsu.edu.