It never ceases to amaze me that whatever I put on a display gets checked out - immediately. To paraphrase the late Steve Jobs, they don't know they need it until you let them know they need it.
That's exactly what happened when one week before Martin Luther King Day (picture courtesy of National Geographic for Kids), I set up a display with MLK books - books on the Freedom Riders, various biographies of MLK, Civil Rights books, and books highlighting his speeches. You name it, I had it out there. And, as of today, all of the books are checked out. That is, except for one that said, "does not exist" when it was scanned. I'll deal with it later.
My question is why? Those books were always there on the shelves. I also have one poster of MLK in my library and a huge piece of artwork with 16 panels of MLK's visage, so it is not as if there are no reminders that this man plays the main role in the development of the New South (Huffington Post article referencing that on Friday the 13th). The students who checked them out just didn't realize they needed them until I put them out there within easy reach.
Never underestimate the power of displays.
Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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