Promoting Reading with Speed Dating and Book Trailers

Just a very quick post this month to highlight some of the discussions we have been having at our Library Department meetings about book talks, speed dating, and book trailers.  We have been experimenting with offering shorter “talks” and giving students a chance to preview and react to books.  They sit at a table with several titles on display; choose one and then for a timed two minutes, look at the cover, inside blurb, and read a few pages. As they finish, they rate their level of interest on a form we supply.

It’s fun and the students seem really engaged, often suggesting titles to classmates when we re-start the timer for a new book.  It is relatively easy to interject with quick reviews or to highlight a neglected table or category, too. Response from teachers and students has been very positive.

We have also been experimenting with creating some book trailers and reviewing those that are available on “channels” like the ones listed above. Each year, we use short videos to help promote the Abe Lincoln award nominees, too.  They are often incorporated in a LibGuide like this one (for 2017 already!) by Diana Nelson at Crystal Lake High School.