The following is a question that was asked on an Iowa library listserv.
I am a newer Director and am looking for ideas on how to start a book
>club/discussion. As far as I know this library has never done anything like
>this before. Any suggestions on the do’s and don’t would be great. I am a
>size “b” library. And suggestions on how to go about picking out a book for
>this and where to get the multiple copies would be great also. I have been
>working on our kids programming and have that pretty much under control now
>but need to do something for teens and adults in community also and thought
>maybe trying book club. If you can send me suggestions off list that would be
>great.This is my answer to the inquiry.
When I was involved with starting my book club, I put a story in the library
>column inviting those interested to attend a an informational meeting. We
>had 6 people show up who were interested. This gave us a core group and a
>demographic (senior women).
>
> We meet 2 times a month, which was good for building group cohesion and we
>have kept to that schedule for 16 years. We usually split books in half and
>discuss half each meeting during the month. When we do dense nonfiction, we
>only do a third of the book. Short books, less than 300 pages we discuss in
>one meeting. (I have wished, and sought to change the meeting schedule to
>once a month, but the group likes to meet more often).
>
> Group size: 8-12 is optimal. When the group grows too large, a few members
>will begin to see the group as optional. (I attend when we discuss a book
>that I like). We had 16 in our meeting last time. Normally, when the group
>gets that large, I would seek to start a new group, but my ladies wanted to
>attend both groups. Group size will usually regulate itself at the 8 to 12
>age range.
>
> I prefer an open group to a closed one, because it will allow the group to
>evolve over time.
>
> Choosing books: To begin with, I use the ALA Notable Book Lists
>http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/notablebooks Reading Group Guides
>http://www.readinggroupguides.com and the Nebraska Library Commission Book
>Club wiki http://nebookclub.pbworks.com/w/page/7656389/FrontPage this lists
>libraries that have multiple copies of books. We also do our one book one
>state, and one book one community reads. I also take suggestions from our
>members. I simply look at the availability of the book, otherwise I embrace
>their choices. This gives your participants more of a sense of ownership of
>the group.
>
>Finding multiple copies: The Nebraska Library Commission wiki is one place
>that I find multiple copies, otherwise we interlibrary loan multiple copies.
> Check with your Iowa libraries website for possible locations of multiple
>copies and area administrators, they can help.
>
The Antiquarian Librarian 