Librarian's Toolbox: Display Signs

Our children's nonfiction and fiction shelving has built-in display areas on the endcaps of the shelves. We have acrylic displays that can hold signs as well as book holders to use in these areas.  I've been responsible for our endcap displays for over a year now, and I've definitely changed the way I've done these displays over the year.

Way too many words on that sign. "Happy Birthday" and the author's name is sufficient.

More pictures, fewer words. I put less description in the signage and utilize more pictures. People are not likely to read the signs, but they can glance at the picture to figure out what the display is all about, and I will gladly point them to other books or more information if they want it.

Sometimes less is more.

Less white space, more color. Even though Microsoft Publisher has 1-inch borders all around the page, I extended the pictures to include the entire page, then let the printer determine how much border I would need. The result is much less white space and more room for a better picture.

Instead of a brown background and a small food picture, the picture IS the background.

Rule of three. I only put three books on each display. Three is enough to give the idea of what the display is about and hopefully to get patrons interested in finding other books on the same topic. Three is visually satisfying as well. 

At the beginning of each month, I remove the display sign from the acrylic holder and replace it with a new sign. I have saved all of the signs from last year, and I'm gradually replacing them with (hopefully) better-looking signs that will be more attractive to our patrons. 

How do you display books in your library? Do you have some kind of stand-alone display that you change out on a regular basis?

UPDATE: Here is a link to a Google Doc listing my monthly themes. I try to do one picture book author, two nonfiction topics, and one juvenile fiction author or topic per month, depending on how the month works out.