I think borrowers can see a difference in our library as a result of Frontline. Our stock is looking less crammed and we are using more 'face on' shelving methods which have resulted in a more attractive browsing environment.

‘Less is usually best' and targeted displays are an effective method of encouraging borrowers to step outside their comfort zones.

The idea of letting the books do the talking has proven to be invaluable. I’ve vastly improved my display skills as a result of Frontline. Some of the strategies that I learned are now instinctive. For example I can’t walk past a dumpbin without feeling the urge to create a better visual impact. This is ok in my own workplace, but I have to control myself in other libraries!!

Suzanne says she was really skeptical about doing Frontline. However, once she started she found herself tackling it with real enthusiasm. Suzanne says:

''It is so easy to put up barriers and let negativity take over when confronted with a new task. This is human nature. However, I am happy to say how much I enjoyed the course and the sense of achievement at having completed it successfully.

I found the course made me look at the library I have worked in, for the last 18 years, with fresh eyes. . . It has been interesting to prove that you can produce a really eye catching display, that speaks for itself, without the need for any poster or decoration.

I believe that borrowers have already noticed the quality and variety of the face forward displays at Maidstone library. Before, most borrowers would head straight for the returned fiction/non-fiction bays, however I do see many more borrowers browsing the displays which are changed and topped up regularly.

One customer, who I interviewed for module 1, continued throughout my course to ask how I was getting on. He was genuinely interested in the ideas surrounding Frontline and was really pleased to be able to answer my questions constructively. He was very pleased to hear that I had successfully completed the course!''

Suzanne’s colleagues say that her library has completely changed in its appearance since she did the course. She’s now gone on to be a peer Supervisor of others, and is enjoying supporting them to make their own new ideas grow, too.

If there is one thing I will remember about doing the Frontline course, it is how delighted borrowers were to be asked about their reading preferences. They loved to give an opinion on their likes and dislikes. I find that the Book of Day is still useful, as particular borrowers always look for it, and often add one of their own.

I am now much more aware of how important it is to display stock to its best advantage. I regularly put books that have not been taken out for some time on display in a prominent place and I always find a borrower for them. I like the fact that I can surprise borrowers with old favourites, which they had forgotten all about.

The face-on display section is proving very popular and borrowers are delighted with it. I use a combination of fiction and non fiction. It gives the borrowers more of a choice.

In my opinion, it was well worth putting in the time to get this course done.

It was interesting, while doing this course, to realise the impact that the covers of books have on people. Previously I had thought that the cover made little difference to whether a book would be borrowed or not When a young female reader took out four books from the display I had just set up I was overjoyed!

I understand much better what influences people to borrow, what catches their eye and what to avoid. My library is much less cluttered and I’ve removed home-made posters, signs, collages etc, and concentrated on using modern, attractive display furniture that is regularly topped up.

Not everyone was convinced about what I was doing at the time, but I enjoyed the course and I feel it will be extremely valuable for my colleagues.

The real value of the course for me was discovering the diversity of opinion and taste of the library users and the fact that the consultation / interview process covered a wide range of ages and both sexes. I enjoy taking the time to consider displays from the point of view of the borrowers. I think that too often we think that we know what's best for our borrowers and tend to forget the diversity of tastes among our readers.

Whilst I was doing the course, one reader said to me that it was so nice to be consulted and her remarks taken seriously as she had been going to public libraries for many years and had never been consulted on anything in relation to book displays, reading habits and the like.

Whilst doing the course I was able to demonstrate that a well-thought-out display makes all the difference between books being taken out and enjoyed by borrowers and languishing on the shelves for months on end. I think that our displays are more varied and interesting now and appeal to as many tastes as possible and our readers opinions and input are considered a little more than heretofore.

It is exciting to watch borrowers becoming involved with my initiatives, such as the recommendations on the noticeboard. I get a real feeling of success when someone picks a book of the day I have chosen or a display empties quickly.

One reader who was choosing something from a promotion I did said to me: ''It makes you try something different . . . it really works when there are so many books you don't know where to start.''

I'm much more confident and much more competitive about how I present things in the library now. For example I sometimes set myself a challenge to see how quickly I can get the book of the day to go out, or to rescue a good book that's not been out for a while.

In my library we use more paperbacks in displays and more thought is going into how the returned today section is managed rather than it just being used as a place to leave things.

One thing that I am still doing as a result of doing Frontline is lots of displays of all kind – fiction as well as non-fiction. I have noticed that these quickly empty, especially at weekends. My staff colleagues are joining in and I think readers do see the difference.

Readers who use large print were especially pleased that I had brought CDs and large print non-fiction and various genres together as this stock rarely gets attention and it certainly helped these readers choose more widely.

I really enjoyed starting Book of the Day because it was so popular and am looking forward to seeing how my staff colleagues who are doing the course will use it.

I feel more confident about approaching readers and talking about the books that they read. What I remember most is how to display books effectively.

Customer Services Supervisor

I have worked at Saffron Walden Library for 20 years. In 2007 the library was refurbished and we now have a lovely bright modern looking building, new furniture and new books. Having done Frontline I feel I have been refurbished and refreshed too.

Talking to customers as they looked for books opened my eyes to much more than just display. I found customers are visibly unsure where to go and what to do. Yet when approached they are really keen to talk about their reading and to find out more. It really brought home to me the importance of 'meet & greet' staff.

In the past I was often apologising for something we were not doing, now I feel proud to be here; we have terrific books for free, we have great experienced knowledgeable staff, we offer a brilliant service.

Adult Information Services Librarian

Taking the Frontline course really changed and developed the way that I think about books.

One change that is evident in my library as a result is an increase in face out display. Frontline really drove home to me the importance of our borrowers being able to really see the books that we have on offer. Lines of spines are not the answer - so much good material is lost and it is not an appealing, creative or convenient way to browse. Face out display is where it's at.

Borrowers say that they trust that librarians will make good choices about what they put on
display and so it’s vital to be able to know what to do to promote a range, no matter what our own feelings about them are.

I considered myself quite savvy about borrower behaviour but Frontline has opened up a whole new realm of understanding of how our borrowers operate and what strategies we can employ to give them (and therefore us!) much greater value.

Branch Librarian

The course made me think about how customers perceive our libraries, and the changes we made as a result of doing Frontline has resulted in many more borrowers now use the quick pick and returns areas.

More thought has gone into where we locate displays and as a result, they are more effective.

Name: Sue Hoyle

Libraries: Wakefield Libraries, Mobile library

Doing Frontline developed me as both a member of staff and as a reader. When doing promotions, it showed me how to do different displays and themes I might not have thought of before. Now ideas almost jump off the shelf, and it can be just one title that gives me the idea!

I think my work has led to borrowers on the mobile trying different authors and different genres, and I am more confident to encourage borrowers to be brave and come out of their comfort zone.

I am an enquiry assistant in a busy central library.

I have always been interested in why people pick up certain books, Frontline has shown me how even a simple display can issue many more books than a random selection.

I enjoy deciphering the covers and it has given me much more confidence in picking booksto recommend to readers. I am looking forward to creating my first serious display."

I work in a regular town library, not too big, not too small, in the very pretty Thames-side location of Marlow. The age range of borrowers is vast, and recently we have seen an upturn in new members joining.

Throughout the Frontline course I have really made friends with a large number of customers, through speaking to them as part of my modules, and still go back to them for opinions and feedback. I have noticed that much less time is being spent on creating displays, making props etc, and instead, we are using are more tried and tested set-ups as per those I used in Frontline. There is also a lot more thinking outside the obvious.. I think more risks are being taken, and more of a rapid response to what works and what doesn't work through monitoring.

It challenges the notions we always had of what does and doesn't work- sometimes proving us wrong, sometimes proving us right, and forces us to look at our workplace through the eyes of a customer. We must all refresh our visual skills once in a while, and be critical of our surroundings. I also think many of my colleagues would benefit from the online discussions and the opportunity to hear what goes on nationwide.

If there is one thing I will remember about doing the Frontline course, it is:
I have learnt so many things from doing this course but if I had to pick one thing then it would be how to set up effective book displays where people notice, take an interest, and regularly borrower the books.

One thing a reader said/did in reaction to the work I did on the course was:
After I set up my display one reader said to me that I have chosen a good location for the display. He said that nearly everybody looks at the returns shelf and because my display was opposite he said people would notice it.

One difference that taking the course made for me was:
There have been several differences to me that have been beneficial from taking this course, such as talking to borrowers or doing displays. But I think the most important difference is my confidence in doing these various things.

One change that borrowers might notice in my library as a result of Frontline is:
Borrowers will see more displays in the library that have been influenced by me because I feel comfortable in putting these together rather than just leaving it for someone else to do.

Any other comments?
This course is very beneficial in completing. Before I started it I wasn't too keen on doing it at first, but after I had started it I soon realised how much it would help me in my job and what it would do for my confidence.

Nanees works as the Library Assistant in a Centre that offers books in English to a wide range of young readers in Heliopolis in Cairo.

Nanees says:
‘The Young Learners’ Centre where I work has entirely changed since the Frontline course.

Before the course, I thought that books were made to be stacked on shelves, and that readers had enough experience to pick the books they want. All I do is issue them. I was wrong. Books should be treated like people; displaying them in harmony, letting them stand for themselves, showing them off for readers to admire and notice them. It showed me the weak points in my library (invisible borrowers, dark corners), the power of communication with readers, and, above all, it built my confidence in what I do.’

Cherith Durrant is the Prison Librarian and Resources Manager at Little Hey Prison, Perry in Cambridgeshire

‘I feel more confident about speaking to my library users about books and suggesting ones for them to read . Frontline took me out of my comfort zone at first - and them out of theirs -but it has mutally benefited us.

Our library has changed as a result of Frontline as we now have regular promotions and our readers contribute useful suggestions for displays . My staff and our Library Orderlies take pride in these displays and put a lot of effort into promoting our stock.

I would encourage Prison Librarians and their library authorities to do the course as even in such a restricted environment it broadens our skills and provides a refreshed outlook on our space, resources and customers. I just wish there was a non-web based version for our prisoner Library Orderlies to do!

Georgina McGarry works at Norris Green Community Library in Liverpool, a busy library situated in a deprived area with a high level of unemployment.

"It gave me a big confidence boost and I now feel happier about recommending books to readers. The discussion area gave me the opportunity to talk to other library assistants from all over the country and I could learn and share new ideas. I was able to use my creativity in creating a book promotion - something that I did not have the opportunity to do before.

It's excellent for those who want to take a real interest in their job and I think it's a great new way to learn. I was actually quite sad when the course finished!"