NSW public library wiki

Open or themed book clubs are a format where participants have not necessarily read the same item. The meetings may operate around a set theme, or people may discuss anything they have read recently.

In July 2016 there was a survey of libraries across NSW about their open book club programs.

Responses were received from:

• Casino Library
• Shoalhaven
• Barham Library
• Hawkesbury
• Belmont/Lake Macquarie
• Maitland
• Queanbeyan
• Manly
• Lane Cove
• Central Murray Regional Library

Names for these Book Clubs

• Between the Sheets Bookgroup
• BookChat
• Night Time Book Club
• Bring-along-a-book
• Coffee & Chat Hour
• Casino Library Readers Group
• Coffee, Books & Chat
• First Friday Book Chat
• Manly Library Book Discussion Group
• Queanbeyan Reading Circle
• Third Thursday Book Club
• Third Wednesday Book Club

Is the group facilitated?

The majority of these libraries have staff facilitated groups. One is facilitated by a volunteer, and one is group facilitated.

Average attendance

between 5 - 8: 5 libraries,between 10 - 15: 5 libraries

Are Bookings Required?

Only one library asks for bookings, but they are not compulsory

Italic Text

9 out of 10 libraries set themes for discussion. Themes have included: Fairy tale retellings ugly covers HSC reads murder and crime food fashion winter warmers spring into a book Chill out books Ebooks ANZAC stories Lost in space The World of Science Fiction Inspiring stories Armchair travel Books that take you to another place Cover art My reading journey Flawed characters Love ‘em or hate ‘em. Classic Crime The year in review rainbow reads to match up with the gay and lesbian mardi gras (But rainbow can be taken in colour, change, differences - very many different ways) Manly Library's themes are available at http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/library/book-group/

Does the Library provide any catering?

Most libraries provide tea, coffee and biscuits, but some of the book clubs bring along their own refreshments. A few libraries discontinued catering because the groups did not require it.

Other tips and ideas from survey respondents

• I tend to start with myself talking about any books I've read then go around the group asking each person to share what they have read, after that they tend to just chat about movies, travel, music, and a whole range of other topics, I usually spend about an hour with the group then leave them to it, sometimes they all leave after the hour but at other times they stay and chat or sometimes they go out for lunch or coffee
• I like to keep reviews to 5-10 mins and people are welcome to continue discussions after the meeting has finished. Politics and religion are always problem areas so I try to curb any potential conflicts!
• We have a very keen member of our group who absolutely loves to talk about her books – the only problem is she completely dominates the group so I usually ask her to speak last in order to give the others a chance to get a word in!
• The hardest part is that some people reveal too much about a book or might talk for too long about their book or even for a personality to be really dominant so it is good to have staff there
• We all have a great time – I usually take notes and plan on making bookmarks with our Readers Group monthly recommendations on them.
• As the meeting goes on the Library assistants there take note of who has read what titles and the authors and at the end we send out an email with the list of books that have been read.
• We produce a monthly newsletter of what was discussed at each meeting, and encourage members to write reviews for us for our webpage.
• Also as part of the group they get to see some of the new stock before it goes out for loan, I always try to have between 20-30 brand new titles for them to choose from, I find this makes them feel a little special and they like being able to have access to new stock before anyone else and we used this as a draw card when we were setting up the book group all those years ago.
• A recurring comment, is that they enjoyed the book from the suggested reading list, but would never have picked it otherwise. The theme pushes them in new directions for reading choices.