Shelf Talkers: How-To’s and Examples | Did You Know?

Today, we’re turning the spotlight on Digital Library Shelf Talkers. You may have seen these short reviews/recommendations appear on various digital library title records. Shelf talkers are a great way to do some proactive readers’ advisory and help draw attention to titles that might fly under the radar or be checked out less often.

Note: you will need “Create/view Carts” or “Curate” permission in OverDrive’s Marketplace to make a shelf talker.

Learn how to add a Shelf Talker to a digital library title with this video.

In-depth Shelf Talker resources and information may be found here.

Here are some additional best practices/tips about shelf talkers from your Wisconsin’s Digital Library selection team:

  • Don’t feel like you need to use a photo/headshot for your avatar. You might decide to use a library-wide account with your library logo or a photo of your library, or if you use your account you could use your own emoji or sticker.
  • Need help deciding what to include in your shelf talker? Here are some examples from OverDrive. Below are some additional things you may want to include:
    • Read-alike phrases, such as: “For fans of [author or series name]” or “If you liked [book title], you’ll love this”
    • Be specific about character/author representation
    • Make a note of content warnings
  • If a shelf talker is posted on an item owned at the Advantage level and at the Consortium level, the Advantage-level talker will get the “priority view” and override the Consortium-level talker.

The Did You Know? series spotlights features, tools, and other resources available to library staff, including patron-facing folks, to expand their know-how about Wisconsin’s Digital Library, OverDrive, Libby, and the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC).