Motivation begins in the mind but it moves quickly to the body. To be chosen, a book must catch the eye and be easy to reach with the hands.

Stand at the entrance to your library and take a long, cool look at what you see. How many books jump out to your eye? How far do you need to go before you can touch one?

Most readers choose books by their covers. Publishers spend a lot of money designing book covers which will clearly convey the appeal of the book to its target market.

A library has the opportunity to work with these just as a bookstore does. The skills of visual merchandising are just beginning to be introduced into libraries and you will be amazed if you give this attention how it will impact on the feedback from your students or patrons – and on your circulation statistics too.

You are going to use the Take a Chance concept to create a small display in the library. Choose a good location where it will be highly visible. You could use two face-out shelves in a bookcase or a freestanding book displayer. Let the books speak for themselves – don’t feel you have to label or categorise them. The Take a Chance graphic is a sufficient signpost.