Guides: MPR: Books & Beyond

Check Out the OCLS Style Guide

For more specific writing, formatting and punctuation guidelines, see the OCLS Style Guide.

Publicity Deadlines

December 2024 Issue
- Wednesday, October 9, 7 p.m.
January 2025 Issue
- Monday, November 11, 7 p.m.
February 2025 Issue
- Monday, December 9, 7 p.m.
March 2025 Issue
- Thursday, January 9, 7 p.m.
April 2025 Issue
- Monday, February 10, 7 p.m.
May 2025 Issue
- Monday, March 10, 7 p.m.
June 2025 Issue
- Wednesday, April 9, 7 p.m.
July 2025 Issue
- Friday, May 9, 6 p.m.
August 2025 Issue
- Monday, June 9, 7 p.m.
September 2025 Issue
- Wednesday, July 9, 7 p.m.
October 2025 Issue
- Monday, August 11, 7 p.m.
November 2025 Issue
- Tuesday, September 9, 7 p.m.
December 2025 Issue
- Thursday, October 9, 7 p.m.

Books & Beyond Event Themes

January Issue
- MLK Jr.'s Birthday
February Issue
- Black History Month (bb-theme)
March Issue
- Spring Break
- Women's History Month (bb-theme)
April Issue
- Earth Day
- Arab American Heritage Month (bb-theme)
- Celebrate Diversity Month
- National Library Week
May Issue
- Asian American History Month (bb-theme)
- Jewish American Heritage Month
- Mental Health Awareness Month
June Issue
- Summer at Your Library (bb-theme)
- LGBTQ+ Pride Month
- Juneteenth
- Caribbean American Heritage Month
July Issue
- Summer at Your Library (bb-theme)
- Independence Day
August Issue
- No Theme
September Issue
- Hispanic Heritage Month (bb-theme)
- National Library Card Sign-up Month
October Issue
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Halloween (bb-theme)
November Issue
- Native American Heritage Month (bb-theme)
December Issue
- No theme

Image Guidelines

Images for Print

including images helps make them more eye catching to customers and allows for better marketing. Try to include images for events when possible. If you need photos taken for your event, see below for details.

images for print must be high resolution and at least 300dpi
small images or thumbnails at 72dpi from the web are not acceptable for print use and will be discarded
logos and illustrations can be sent in vector formats if available for the highest print quality (usually .ai or .svg)
ensure that images related to your events are print quality and are sent to newsletterupdates@ocls.info by the publicity deadline
if you have a subject that needs a high quality photo for posters or Books & Beyond, please use the Creative Request Form to submit a photography request
existing photos approved for web and print use can be found on the ImageBank

Using BB-Tags in Communico

Events in Communico and using bb-tags

There is a set of special search tags in Communico that we call bb-tags because they are used to gather listings for promotion in Books & Beyond. These bb-tags are separate from normal search tags and should be used in addition to them. Every month, a Communico report is run to export events with these tags for our monthly magazine. Deadlines for having events tagged are listed in the sidebar to the left.

use only one bb-tag per event
passive events should not be tagged
for events that span multiple age groups, use the lower age group's tag
after the deadline has passed, please email any updates or cancellations to newsletterupdates@ocls.info
promotion for events that don't have Communico listings or require additional information like logos or graphics can be emailed to newsletterupdates@ocls.info
BB-Tags:
- bb-ages-0-18-months
- bb-ages-18-36-months
- bb-ages-3-5
- bb-ages-6-12
- bb-ages-13-18
- bb-family
- bb-adult-events
  - Use this tag for general events that are strictly for ages 18 and up.
- bb-adult-tech-classes
  - Used only for adult focused tech classes. Youth tech classes should use bb-childrens-tech-classes
- bb-art-exhibits
  - Art exhibits and other installations. Art classes should be tagged with appropriate age group tag.
- bb-bookclubs
  - Use for all book clubs
- bb-childrens-tech-classes
  - Use for tech classes targeted at kids and teens. Youth events such as Dungeons & Dragons, sewing, etc. should use their appropriate age range or category tag even if presented by a tech trainer. Adult tech classes should use bb-adult-tech-classes
- bb-fiber-arts
  - Events involving sewing, knitting, crochet, etc.
- bb-genealogy
  - Genealogy events
- bb-home-education
  - Homeschool events and classes
- bb-language-learning
  - All ESOL and other language related events
- bb-general-events
  - General all ages events that do not fit in specific categories. For 18 and up events use bb-adult-events
- bb-meet-the-author
  - In-person and virtual author talks and visits
- bb-melrose
  - Melrose Center events
- bb-music-in-the-library
  - Musical performances
- bb-outreach-events
  - Reserved for offsite events presented by our Community Engagement Department
- bb-senior-events
  - Events for older adults
- bb-theme
  - Used for the main system initiatives and generally follows our Can't Miss Display themes - listed in the sidebar on the left
- bb-writers-corner
  - Writing classes, workshops and events

Tips for Effective Event Listings

Event Titles

ensure that your event title is consistent with other instances of the same event, including spelling and punctuation

Short Description

short descriptions are limited to 200 characters, use this space wisely as it is the first thing a customer sees
do not repeat the title, date or locations in the description
short descriptions are used as preview text for an event on the website and in print for Books & Beyond
short descriptions are displayed above the long descriptions on an event page, avoid repeating the short description text into the long description
these should be clear and concise, containing key details for what an event is and it’s intended audience
descriptions should not be vague or overly short (ie. "Join us to learn a craft.")
avoid using filler words and phrases, for example:
- ✘ "Come join us at Southeast Branch to learn how to...."
- ✔ "Learn to..."
address the intended audience (ie. descriptions should be written to parents and not to babies)
avoid using passive voice; subjects should be performing the verb rather than having the verb performed on them
- active: Thousands of tourists visit the Grand Canyon every year.
- passive: The Grand Canyon is visited by thousands of tourists every year.
avoid using exclamation points
double check that presenter / author names are spelled correctly
please have another staff member proof read your descriptions for clarity, punctuation and spelling to avoid errors - if a customer with no prior knowledge read your event description, would they know what your event was about and who it was for?

Article Guidelines

Tips for Successful Articles

If you have an article or an idea for an article that you think might be interesting and informative to our patrons, please submit them to newsletterupdates@ocls.info
Articles should promote library services in some way. This can mean tying into materials in our collection, databases or other resources, library events, history, etc. This doesn't need to be the entire focus, but there should at least be some call to action directing readers toward using library services
Include a headline for your article
Articles should be 500 words maximum
Please include the name and job title of the author of the article
Do not paste images into Word documents. Please submit high quality photos separately through email, OneDrive, Sharepoint, etc.
Interviews
- 3-5 questions
- Try to keep questions on a single overall theme or topic
- Avoid unrelated questions or very similar questions that may have already been answered
- Include a brief introduction paragraph letting the reader know who the interviewee is and information about why they are being interviewed (are they presenting an event? a visiting author? what are the event details?)

MPR: Books & Beyond

Deadlines, Themes, Tags and Tips