Mechanics’ Institute members love our library displays. I know, because we get plenty of positive feedback on them, and quantitative analysis shows that a significant percentage of these materials get checked out every month. Members love to discover books, DVDS, and audiobooks that they may not otherwise have known about!
I consider it an art to curate the books on any library display. Some are structured around a consistent theme, such as fiction or staff picks. Some are produced on the fly when a revered writer passes away (recents included in memoriam for Kevin Starr, Derek Walcott, and currently on display, the works of Sam Shepard). Others are a bit more free form. In my two years managing the displays, I’ve become quite a bit more ~ Surrealist ~ in my methodology for producing these book exhibits. (Ceci n'est pas un étalage.) So how does an idea begin to germinate? I’ll cite a couple of examples for some recent displays I’ve constructed.
The Human_3.0 Reading List, showing on the third floor through the end of August, is based entirely on a series of drawings by filmmaker-artist Cauleen Smith. I recently saw the work exhibited at Art Institute Chicago and immediately knew I’d craft a display around the reading list. In her series of 57 drawings, Smith uses watercolor over graphite on graph paper to propose a personal reading list of works that have changed her worldview, books that she feels are essential in understanding institutional power structures. In displaying the books on her list that are also on our shelves, I hope to inspire members to read works they may not have considered, as well as to think about their own essential reading lists – the books that have shaped them and the books they recommend to others.
Another recent display idea was triggered by my trill of joy upon finding out that a favorite writer won the Pulitzer for criticism. Theater and culture critic Hilton Als writes for The New Yorker, so his work appears primarily in magazines. I asked myself...
How do I craft an engaging display that celebrates his work? I can't just lay out a bunch of battered issues of The New Yorker!
I looked to Als's articles for the answer. I included plays that he's reviewed, books he wrote the introductions for or edited, and the few books he's published. I also researched citations in Als's articles over the past year to locate materials he referred to, even if they weren't the direct subject of a piece. Coming at the question obliquely allowed me to include magazines, DVDs, and books. I also created a poster and a brochure listing the articles for which he won the Pulitzer (and indicating where they could be found). The brochures disappeared from the display almost as quickly as the books were checked out – two signals of a successful exhibit!
My favorite displays to design are the ones, like the examples above, that are pure flights of imagination. I like to build materials exhibits around a nugget of interest from a subject area or a member’s comment, a newsworthy topic, or in conjunction with a current art exhibit or a program the MI is hosting. I hope you enjoy our library displays as much as I enjoy researching and creating them!
