CREATING A LIBRARY DISPLAY

Library displays can be an effective way of promoting the vegan message and they have several advantages:

- All you need are some simple materials and a bit of imagination.
- They are inexpensive and usually close to home.
- Once set up they need very little attention (unlike a stall which has to be manned continuously) so they are ideal if you haven't got much free time.
- They are also ideal if you are shy, as you can promote the message without too much personal exposure.

The first approach

Policies about library displays vary from area to area, so the first thing to do is call at your local library and ask who is in charge of displays and what their policies are. Make a note of the name of the person so that you can cultivate a relationship with them. Be polite and friendly, but make a point of saying how attractive and informative a display can be and how it would make their excellent library look even better for a fortnight or a month or whatever.

Ask if the library can provide display boards, leaflet dispensers, tables and other materials to build the display on or around. Some libraries have plenty of such equipment while in others you may have to provide your own.

Ask if there are any restrictions on the type of material that can be displayed or the subjects covered. Do abide by these restrictions - you may want to do another display later. If they seem a bit reluctant to have a display about veganism, offer to set it up and let them look at it and suggest any changes.

Materials

Big bright posters are eye-catching, but it's also useful to have some leaflets that people can take away.

Facts and figures will back up your argument and also make your display look more educational, which may be a plus in some libraries.

If you think you may wish to do a library display at some time, start a box for your materials - it's never too early to start. Use the box to save the following:

Posters - from The Vegan Society, or make your own. Most libraries seem happiest with A4, but you might get away with one A3 poster in the centre of your display.
Pictures (cut from magazines and papers, or postcards) - of vegan celebrities, attractive-looking fruits and vegetables, vegan dishes, animals in natural settings, different kinds of landscape to illustrate environmental points.

Photos - of what your group has been doing.

Quotes - make a list of quotes from famous people that are relevant to veganism [see www.ivu.org for a huge collection]. If you have a computer, keep them on file so that you can easily select some to fit a particular display and then print them out in large type, or write them out in bold handwriting or use stencils. You could also save leaflets with striking headlines.

Facts and figures - see www.vegansociety.com and create your own display. Leaflets are also a good source of facts and figures; save two or three of each so that you can display them with different pages showing.

Product packets and labels - brightly-coloured vegan product packets can help liven up a display. Try to remove them from the product while still fresh and clean. Open them up and store flat so they don't take up too much room.

Sample copies of magazines such as The Vegan.

Leaflets on animal/environmental/health/world development topics.

Seasonal trimmings - cheerful seasonal decorations, such as drawings of Christmas trees, make good eye-catchers if your display is themed for a particular time of year.
Advertise your own group with a poster giving contact details, plus a few copies of your newsletter or programme and perhaps some photos of events.

Ask the library if they have any relevant books which could be displayed on a stand near your display.

Try to preserve your materials afterwards. Remove them from the display boards carefully and take them home. It can take quite a while to build up a good collection so you don't want to have to start from scratch every time.

Lamination is a useful way to preserve posters, pictures and other visual material so that it can be used time and again.

Have some things people can take away, e.g.

- Vegan Society leaflets, your own newsletter, some recipe leaflets of your own
- A list of any relevant books held in the library. This supports the library by making best use of their stock and also allows people who find the display interesting to follow it up.
- A list of useful websites and/or addresses of local branches of relevant organizations.

You might also want to consider letting people 'interact' with your display. For example, you could include:

- A petition
- A survey with questionnaires and a box to post the completed forms in. Something with a local angle might help attract attention, e.g. a survey on how well local supermarkets do at providing vegan products.
- A contact sheet for people to add their names and addresses if they would like further information
- A 'graffiti wall' - a plain sheet of paper people could use to add their own comments about the subject of your display

In these cases you would need to provide pens or felt-tips (secured to boards or table legs with string to reduce the number that walk in the night). You would also need to visit more frequently to keep the display tidy, take away completed forms, petition sheets, etc and provide out new ones. An untidy display will not win favour with library staff, so if you can't keep an eye on the display it's best not to use items likely to become untidy.

Collecting box - you would need permission from the librarian, and also be wary if you can't get in frequently to check on the box and empty it, or if your display is in a place where library staff can't keep an eye on it.

Start your display off with plenty of material, since the library staff may decide that something is unacceptable and ask you to remove it. Sometimes they get complaints halfway through and they may ask you to modify it, so allow for this.

School Libraries

These are usually small and understaffed. There may be just one librarian or the teaching staff may have to run it. As with public libraries, find out who is in charge and ask about their displays policy. You will have a better chance of getting a display accepted if it ties in with the school curriculum, so instead of just a general display on veganism think about targeting one of these areas:

- Food Technology/Home Economics (vegan nutrition and recipes)
- History (social movements etc.)
- Religious Education (attitudes to food and animals, ethics and morality)
- Sociology (pressure groups)
- Philosophy (ethical issues)
- Design (food packaging, design of leaflets, recipe cards, menus, etc.)
- Geography (land use, pollution, environmental issues)
- Personal and Social Development (general understanding of citizenship, differing beliefs)

Equipment

Many libraries will have display boards and other equipment that you can borrow for your display. If not, try asking your local volunteers bureau. They may have some themselves or know who can help locally. Organizations that may have display boards to lend are church groups, local branches of major charities, businesses, youth groups, etc.

If you are completely stuck you may have to resort to making your own. If the library can provide a table, you can make an inexpensive folding display to stand on a table top from the cheap cork notice boards sold by cut-price stationery suppliers. These can be fixed together with small hinges to make a screen-like structure that will stand up by itself. Paint them a dark colour or cover with dark material to provide a background for your display materials.

If your display incorporates a table, cover it with plain, dark material or paper so that it looks nice. You can often find coloured paper tablecloths in shops selling party supplies.

Small items of equipment that would be worth storing in your library display box might include:

Map pins
Sellotape and double-sided tape
Velcro fasteners
String
Scissors
Pens, felt-tips, markers etc.
Set of stencils
Wall stapler
Plain paper and coloured paper

Keep them all together in the box so they are at hand when you need them.

[This document is adapted from one produced by Bronwen Humphries of the Vegetarian Society with help from former VegSoc local contact Karl Drinkwater who is now a librarian.]