Topic > The Importance of Recreational Reading - 1685

Pride and Reid remind us of the power of the dust jacket to command attention (33-34). Black students are drawn to books with people of color on the cover, so these books need to be seen. Welch notes that male readers are particularly attracted to books with exciting photographs and sharp title fonts (41). Consequently, a good strategy to increase the "visibility" of books is to place them on shelves with their covers open. While you can't remove all or even many of your book covers, you can take books out and place them on top of shelves or other places where they can be easily seen. Another way to connect with teens and increase visibility of not only individual titles but the library as a whole is through the use of social media (Pride and Reid 34). School library websites and social media platforms can connect students with books and media-savvy publishers, blogs, and other book sites. Booktalking is another proven trick that can be used to introduce students to books from a wide variety of genres, cultures, and interests. A good booktalk should be a short advertisement for a book that captures the audience's attention without revealing too much and leaves them wanting more, thus increasing the likelihood that they will want to read the book themselves (Lesesne, 115). Librarians