Jan. 8 was Elvis Presley’s birthday and the perfect inspiration for a new book display at Great Falls Community Library. The exhibit includes a life-size cutout of Elvis in a gold lame suit, recipe cards for his favorite sandwich (peanut butter and banana and sometimes bacon) and highlights many of the fiction and nonfiction books featuring “the King.” The display is the latest in an ongoing promotional series developed by Great Falls Community Library information assistant, Sandra Souleles.
“Every few weeks I put up a new themed display to highlight parts of the library collection that may be overlooked. It’s a fun way for people to find books they may not otherwise go looking for,” explained Souleles. “People are always asking for recommendations on what to read and this is one way of making it easy for them. I can tell when it’s working when the books fly out the door.”
Previous displays include the Halloween themed “It Came from the Library” complete with black wreath and Edgar Allen Poe’s raven, “National Bathroom Reading Month” in June, and “Dog Days of Summer,” featuring all kinds of books about dogs. Albert Einstein and science even got their turn last year in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
“Sandy’s book displays are creative, popular, and inspirational,” said Daniella Dixon, branch manager at Great Falls. “And always with a sense of humor. Whether it’s books on gardens and gardening, spa day romances, or no-shave November’s ‘I mustache you to read this book….’ where all the books had little black mustaches, Sandy always finds a way to catch your eye and make you stop and pick up a book. And it works. People come in every month to see what’s in the new display.”
“Elvis” will be up through mid-January followed by “You’ve got mail,” featuring epistolary novels (novels written as a series of letters between the characters). “Valentine’s day is always special,” added Souleles. “Last year’s ‘Blind Date with a Book’ was fun. The books were wrapped so you didn’t know what you were getting until you checked out. People were puzzled at first but smiled once they figured it out. And I’ve got something new planned for this year.”
Great Falls Community library, located at 9830 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls, is open Monday through Saturday.