Friday, May 21, 2010

ASRT Meeting on Book Groups

JCLC - ASRT Meeting

May 18, 2010 – Emmet O’Neal Library

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Book Groups!

In attendance were:

Katie Moellering – Emmet O’Neal Library

Mary Donlevy – Emmet O’Neal Library

Jared Millet – BPL

Ellen Lawrence – BPL (SR)

Beth Hutcheson – Homewood

April Wallace – Irondale

Gina Robertson – Gardendale

Theresa Davis – Hoover

Ellen Griffin Shade – BPL (AV)

Bryce Thornton – Hoover

William Darby - Eastwood

Katie Moellering opened the meeting with a reminder that the JCLC Reader's Advisory Roundtable has a blog as well where the moderator (Holley Wesley) has listed all the library book groups in the county she could find. Holley keeps this list current and book group meeting dates, times and topics can be found on the blog. If you run a book group and are not on the list, contact Holley and she can add your group! Here's where you can find the RA blog:

http://raroundtable.blogspot.com/

Katie Moellering told the group about a webinar: RA Webcast opportunity!

WEBCAST NAME: 24/7 Readers' Advisory: Multichannel Delivery of Reading Recommendations
SPONSORED BY: NoveList and Library Journal
EVENT DATE: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 2:00 PM EDT – 60 minutes

In the meeting we discussed several book groups and book group procedures. Theresa Davis began the meeting with an explanation of Hoover’s book club kits, how they are managed and circulated and how they are stored. The kits are stored in a file box and labeled with the contents (books, handouts, maps, discussion questions, author interviews, etc). The box itself has a barcode and the entire box can be checked out to patrons or other libraries. The box has a label which details the cost if items are lost (or if the entire kit is lost). The person who checks the kit out is responsible for the kit in case of loss or damage. There is a list inside with a place for a person’s name and contact information so that whoever checks out the kit can keep track of who borrows from it. These kits can be sent through the courier. Each kit has at least eight copies of the particular book – sometimes more depending on the size of the book. The kits checkout for six weeks. The Fiction Department has around eighty Book Club Kits while the Non Fiction Department has around ten. Theresa reported that Hoover’s website lists all the titles which can be found here:

http://www.hooverlibrary.org/book-kits

The Book Club Kits can be reserved up to one year in advance but you must contact Theresa or Andy in Hoover’s Fiction Department to reserve the kit.

Theresa also reported that she uses an email newsletter from Dearreader.com to send out Book Club picks and other information. The library currently runs three book groups (two fiction and one nonfiction). Theresa also reported they choose their books every six months.

Bryce Told us about the nonfiction group at Hoover, which appears to be the only dedicated nonfiction book group. They meet one Thursday a month from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Theatre Conference Room. Bryce said in leading this group he tries to remain unbiased since so many of the books tend to have controversial topics (politics, the economy, etc). If there are no discussion questions Bryce said he writes down ideas as he reads to help generate discussion. The group is well attended and usually gets around ten people per meeting.

Katie Moellering reported that Emmet O’Neal Library currently runs three book groups – The Bookies which is the most traditional book group. They meet once a month at the library on the 2nd Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. The attendance is usually around 12-15 members each month. The group chooses books once every six months. The library also has a Great Books discussion group which meets once a month on the 2nd Monday at 6:30 p.m. The group uses the Great Books Discussion series. They have been meeting for a little over a year and have an attendance of around 6-8 members per month. This group moderates itself. The library staff prepares the room with coffee and snacks, makes an introducation and/or announcements, then leaves the group to have their session. The groups uses a discussion guide provided by Great Books to help with discussion. The other evening group is run by Holley Wesley it’s called The Genre Reading Group and they meet the last Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. The group decides on their genres or topics once every six months. Holley creates a ballot of topics and the group chooses their favorites. Previous topics/ genres have included: international detectives, ethnic histories, fiction with an Asian setting; Arthurian fiction and Presidential biographies. Attendance is approx. seven members per meeting. This format lends itself to a smaller group as everyone gets a chance to discuss his or her book in depth. The library has recently worked with the Botanical Gardens to help start a gardening/horticulture related book group which meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Botanical Gardens.

Ellen L. at Springville Road (SR) told us that Marilyn runs the SR Book Club. They choose their books one a month for the next month’s meeting. SR’s Book Club meets once a month on the 3rd Monday evening of the month at 6:30. Marilyn generally brings some titles for the group to choose from for the next month, but sometimes the group decides completely on their own what they would like to read.

Beth from Homewood reported on their book group which meets 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. They do not meet in the summer. It is currently known as Tasty Reads and food is provided at the meetings. Originally the food was meant to complement the reading for the evening, but this has devolved. Beth said that in the future the makeup and purpose of the book group may change somewhat. The Homewood group decides on titles once every six months or so and Dennis Nichols currently runs the group. Beth reported the group averages around 3-4 staff members and 3-4 members of the public at each meeting.

April told us that Irondale has a new-ish book group that is going well. She said Leslie West (VH) has been her book group mentor as Leslie has many years of successful book group experience under her belt. The Irondale group meets on the 2nd Monday of the month at 6:30 and they plan their books six months in advance. They have had one year of meetings so far. The group began once April noticed that there was A LOT of interest in her community for a book group. Staff and patrons alike remarked on their desire for a group to meet at the library.

Gardendale has a new-ish book group as well run by Gina Robertson. The group is called The Undead Book Society and meets one Wednesday a month. It’s a little bit different in that it is aimed at women in their 20s and 30s who like to read paranormal fiction, paranormal romance, urban romance and fantasy books as well as young adult books within the same genres. They have an active presence on Facebook which is the group’s sole source of publicity other than word of mouth. The group does not ALWAYS read Undead Books as in the future they will be reading some classics, etc. Additionally, Gina fluctuates the Wednesday each month the group meets based on the number of people who will be able to attend. As the group is still small this flexibility makes for good attendance.

Ellen Lawrence and William Darby reported that they are both working on starting book groups at their respective libraries and may be calling ASRT members in the future if they have questions.

The group discussed several issues involving book groups as well including whether men attend book group meetings, if there are any teen book groups (not currently, although Emmet O’Neal plans to start one in the new school year), how we choose books and how often we choose them.

Jared talked about his opposite of a book group group which is a group for writers who meet at Hoover library once a month. If you are interested in writer’s groups contact Jared Millet!

Jared also commented that a book group men might be interested in would be one on pulp fiction. Gina Robertson commented that she felt like a Western book group would go over very well at Gardendale.

The next ASRT meeting will be July 27th at Emmet O’Neal Library and the topic is Reference!