Broader Bookshelf: Engage Leisure Readers with a Reading Challenge

Since 2017, Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina, has been encouraging readers to expand their reading horizons with the Broader Bookshelf reading challenge. Each year, we ask our customers to read books that fulfill a list of prompts such as “Read a book about war” or “Read a book with a red cover” to receive a prize. We coordinate our prompts with displays in all our locations, lists on our website and Libby, author events, and “Blind Date with a Book” displays and staff recommendations. In addition to crafting prompts that require participants to read books by authors with a wide variety of cultural identities, we build diverse displays and lists to encourage our customers to truly broaden their bookshelves. We have seen major increases in the number of customers completing the program year over year and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback.