Exhibits and displays are booming and in demand at all types of libraries. From simple displays of books to full-scale museum-quality exhibitions, library exhibits can highlight collections that surprise visitors, tell stories, and engage audiences in innovative ways. Often, exhibits feature more than books-showcasing art, photographs, archival materials, multimedia elements, as well as hands-on activities. Stepping outside traditional walls, digital exhibits reach audiences beyond the circulation desk and pave another way for libraries to share information, promote resources, and even lead change in the community. Despite the growing interest, most library and information science (LIS) programs do not include exhibit development courses. It is not uncommon for librarians learn exhibit production on the job or through resources in the museum sector. Wearing many hats, librarians absorb exhibit work as part of community outreach initiatives, or take on exhibit duties as a general professional interest in the emerging field. Exhibits & Displays is a practical how-to guide that helps librarians unleash their library's potential to engage and wow visitors. The guide explains how to kick-start and grow an exhibit program through expert advice, insights from professional literature, and winning case studies that cover exhibition development from conceptual planning through de-installation packing and evaluation. Exhibits & Display: A Practical Guide for Librarians covers: * Pre-planning * Curation and content development * Project management * Graphic design and writing for readability * Preservation and collection care * Legal considerations and loan registration * Installation/de-installation and maintenance tips * Hands-on interactives and digital exhibits * Educational programming * Marketing * Audience evaluation * Supplemental examples and case studies Librarians in academic, public, school, and special libraries will benefit from Exhibits & Displays: A Practical Guide for Librarians. The book is also an excellent textbook for LIS courses covering exhibition development and outreach.
Carol Ng-He is the exhibits coordinator at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Illinois since 2017. She founded the Curating and Exhibitions Interest Group under the Chicago Area Archivists (CAA), a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational and social opportunities for archivists, librarians, historians and other individuals in the Chicagoland area. At a national level, she coordinates the Exhibitions Special Interest Group and serves on the Education Subcommittee at the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA). Her recent publications includeExhibits for All: Fostering a Creative Culture for Community Growth in ILA Reporter, and a chapter on library exhibitions and exhibition spaces in a forthcoming edited book The New Art Museum Library (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020). Carol has written articles on art and museum education in the Journal of Museum Education, Teaching Artist Journal, and Visual Inquiry. Carol holds an MA in art education from the School of the Art Institute is Chicago and a certificate in museum studies from Northwestern University. Currently she is pursuing an MLIS degree at San Jose State University. Patti Gibbons has nearly three decades of experience preserving cultural heritage materials, developing exhibitions, and registering loans in library and museum settings. Currently she is the head of collection management at the University of Chicago Library's Special Collections Research Center and oversees the exhibition program in their 2,400-square-foot gallery that she designed in 2010. She holds an MA in museum studies from the University of Washington and an MS in library and information science from the University of Illinois, with graduate certificates in special collections librarianship and philanthropy & nonprofit administration. Ms. Gibbons is the author of the book The Modern Kiteflier, and she has published several chapters and articles on exhibition best practices, book preservation, and library science topics in textbooks and professional journals, and she is the editor of the "Special Libraries, Special Challenges" column in the Public Services Quarterly journal.
Table of Contents Chapter 1. Show It! Why Libraries Create Exhibits & Displays Chapter 2. Plan It! Setting the Stage for Success Chapter 3. Tell It! Know Your Audience & Find Your Story Chapter 4. Write It! Text & Labels Chapter 5. Build It! Physical Exhibits & Displays Chapter 6. Bring It In! Loan, Traveling, & Pop-up Exhibits Chapter 7. Click It! Digital Exhibits Chapter 8. Engage with It! Programming & Interactives Chapter 9. Market It! Publicity & Promotion Chapter 10. Assess It! Audience Evaluation
The kind of practical advice found here will be useful for any librarian hoping to create and curate exhibits or improve current ones. Advice by librarians, for librarians, is the best kind; I first became aware of Carol Ng-He's interest and expertise in library exhibits when she contributed a successful article to the ILA Reporter journal. These Illinois librarians have thought of everything exhibits so readers don't have to, from why and how, to promotion and programming around exhibits, to assessment. -- Diane Foote, executive director, Illinois Library Association What a generous and helpful book! Reminding their readers that libraries are free, public, and well-used, the authors point out that they are perfect places for exhibits about books and anything else that will excite and educate people. Not stopping there, the writers also suggest that everyone can learn to make wonderful displays and then proceed to offer guidance to exhibit development that will be useful in all settings. I love the book's vivid and approachable writing-'Underlining text is clunky and sort of 'screamy''-and direct messages-'Variety is energizing.' But best, to me, is its can-do attitude-Yes, you, make an exhibit!-and presumption that exhibit makers should be concerned with their audiences. Exhibits must engage, the authors assert. And their book is a good guide toward that goal. -- Therese Quinn, director, Museum and Exhibition Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
