The Elkhart Public Library holds a
book club meeting at the Main Library once a month. The book for the month of February
was “The Life of Galileo” by Bertolt Brecht. I listened to the book in
audiobook format so that when I attended the book club meeting I knew what they
were discussing. It appeared that the members that attended the meeting had
been regular members. I got this impression from the conversations before the
meeting started. They discussed previous books and experiences.
Previous books were chosen from a
list that was provided through Indiana’s Humanities. The group had changed to
choosing their own books based on recommendations by members. By choosing this
route it has led to a shortage of available books in one location. Fortunately,
the library is able to borrow books through Interlibrary Loan. Members were
asked to start thinking about titles for the end of the year. They would
discuss them at the next meeting and vote on which ones to read. From the
conversation about previous books it appeared that not all of the books were
fiction. The book about Galileo was actually a play.
There is a leader of the group
(former employee) Maryann. Maryann started the book club meetings as an
employee but continued to run the group when she retired. The group did not
start with a list of questions they started talking about what they thought of
the book. Maryann did ask questions ask questions when the conversation began
to sway away from the book. The questions were open ended so that a discussion
could take place. Maryann took an active part in the conversation sharing her
thoughts about the book also.
Not all of the participants spoke
during the conversations. There were 3 members who took most of the spotlight
talking about what they thought. One participant took the lead the most. She at
times cut off others as they were talking. Maryann would try to bring the
conversation back to where others could speak but it appeared to be an ongoing
process that would happen at each meeting. I did enjoy another member’s initiative
to bring other books that had further information on Galileo. She brought a juvenile
book that had photos and simple text plus another adult book that had
information and a timeline of events. This information provided a better
understanding of Galileo.
A current staff member brought cake
and coffee about a half hour into the meeting. I do not know if the library
provides these items or just gathers them. It did not look like food was the
main reason why members were there. Only 2 people opted to eat the cake.
Depending on the library’s budget, providing drinks and a snack should be
served at the meetings. From experience people enjoy talking over food.
According to the recommendations
from ALA “sending out monthly reminders” will help keep members in touch. The
members at this meeting were updating the list of emails so that reminders
could go continue to go out. The ALA page also discussed what amount of members
to have at the book club meetings. This group has about 9 members which is between
the recommended numbers of 8-16.
After attending this book group,
which was my first one, I decided that I would like to attend ones in the
future. However, I am unable to do find the time to do so now. For those who
have a love of reading and would like to share what their thoughts are or just
the emotions they get from books, a book club is one way for them to do this.
