Resources for book clubs

Book clubs are growing in Wisconsin libraries. Group leaders often need to identify potential titles and determine how to obtain enough books for participants. To meet the needs of their patrons, many libraries must rely on interlibrary loan; but creating and managing multiple requests for one title is cumbersome and time-consuming.

Staff at the Reference and Loan Library have developed a tool to help libraries working with book clubs. Multiple Copies of Titles Available to Fill Book Club Requests, http://www.wiscat.lib.wi.us/excel/bookclubtitles.xls, is a list of more than 380 book club kits available at libraries throughout Wisconsin. The list is in Excel format, and may be printed and distributed to book club leaders to see if titles are of interest. A phone call to the owning library is often all that is needed to borrow a kit.

Some book club members purchase their own books, then donate them to their library. A list of available titles, with the name of the author and the number of copies for each title is all that is required to add kits to the list. If you have questions about book club requests or the list found on the WISCAT web site, http://www.wiscat.lib.wi.us, or if you have book club kits that you are willing to lend to other libraries, contact Vickie Long, vickie.long@dpi.state.wi.us, or Terry Wilcox, terry.wilcox@dpi.state.wi.us, at the Reference and Loan Library.

Last updated on 8/7/2006