A Book Club Experience with the New York Public Library

I digitally attended the New York Public Library's book club - Open Book Hour: What have you been reading?  The next one will be March 19 at 4pm. 

This book club is one of the new book club formats as discussed by Hoffert (2019). Rather than have a specific book everyone reads followed by the discussion, this book club provided the opportunity for attendees to share what they've been reading and get recommendations from one another. The facilitator, a NYPL librarian, explained that each participant will discuss two books they have read in the past two months (since the last meeting of this book club was in December). The discussion was to include a little summary, any thoughts about the book, and whether they would recommend the book.

I was one of 5 attendees to this book club, not including the facilitating librarian. It was quickly evident the attendees were regulars; everyone was chatting with one another and addressing each other with familiarity. This was exemplified by the facilitator who had clearly built relationships with her participants, addressing everyone by name - including me once I had the chance to introduce myself - to create a better book club experience. Once everyone had arrived and introduced themselves (namely me, as I was the newcomer and they were all very excited to learn about me being in an MLIS program and learning what working in an archive is like), the librarian explained the format of the book club both as a reminder to previous attendees and for newcomers (again, me). As participants went around and did so, the librarian did an excellent job at being the facilitator, while still participating when possible.

Based on the readings for this week, I believe the librarian that facilitated this book club did an excellent job. Throughout the hour, she asked each participant specific questions about their books to engage further. For example, one attended discussed The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. The librarian asked him to compare the title to another one of McBride’s they had all previously read before (he liked this one more). She also did a great job at keeping everyone on topic if they strayed a little in their discussions (there was a discussion about an immersive Great Gatsby experience that happened in NYC a few years earlier and how disappointing it was, Gatsby is also going to be on Broadway), as Hoffert (2019) suggests facilitators should. Both Hoffert and Bies (2019) suggest facilitators should know what it is like to also be a participant, and it was clear this facilitator does. Once each participant had the chance to discuss their books, she also shared about books she had been reading. She also clearly recognized the importance of follow up with attendees; a few days after the book club, she sent an e-mail containing a list of each book that was discussed or even mentioned in passing, as well as details about the next book club session in March, other book clubs hosted by the library, and even a book club that another participant wanted to host before the next official meeting. The follow up email acted as a way to continue garnering new recruits (again, me) while maintaining the relationships she had already developed with other attendees.

This was my first “official” book club experience. I participate in virtual ones through the Fable app with some family members which is more of a group reading situation without a traditional-style discussion. We use it to connect more with each other while also being able to talk about books we’re all reading without spoiling it. While I love doing that, this experience felt special in a different way. It was fun to see a group of people who regularly chat about books get excited to talk to each other again and to share their love of reading. The experience was enlightening as I was able to see a how a librarian in action as facilitator of an untraditional book club. This allowed me to think about how I might lead book clubs in the future. It was also nice to see that there are alternatives to the traditional book club that actually works as way to create a welcoming and friendly environment because sometimes, I just don’t want to read the book that’s been chosen for me and I want to be able to read what I want to read and still have people to talk to about it. 

References

Bies, A. (2019). Making a book discussion your own. ILA Reporter, 38(5), 22-23. 

Hoffert, B. (2019). The book club experience. Library Journal, 144(3), 30-33.