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At the BookExpo America trade show a couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel with four fabulous book club facilitators --- one of whom was Marsha Toy Engstrom, the Book Club Cheerleader™.

As today's guest blogger, Marsha offers suggestions on how book clubs can utilize the wealth of resources at their local libraries.


Turn Local Library Loot into Book Club Booty!

"All the riches in the world couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library." ---Malcolm Forbes

Recently, I needed to get my hands on My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme. A new book club invited me to meet with them and that was their current selection. Of course, my first thought was "...not exactly a book I would've selected" --- since I neither cook, nor am I a Francophile. My next thought was, "Do I really want to spend $30 on a book I probably won't even like? (Well, I wound up loving the book, but that's another blog for another day.) So instead of hopping in my car and driving to the nearest bookstore, I jumped online to my local public library's website and found the book there. It was available in both hardback and audio CD, so I reserved them both and they came from a neighboring branch within a couple of days. By the end of the week, I had already listened to someone (with a fabulous command of both English and French) read the entire book to me and was combing through the hardback version, sticky-noting favorite passages and jotting down questions. The process was a convenient, no-cost solution to my dilemma. (Of course, now that I've found that I love the book, I must purchase it for my personal collection.)

This incident got me thinking about my local public library and all the treasures I've been finding there lately. As a new library board member, I'm moving up a fairly steep learning curve regarding what assets modern libraries now offer --- and the changes go far beyond chucking the quaint card catalogue! Here is my Top 10 list of how you can turn local library loot into book club booty. Check out (pun intended) how many of these riches are new to you!

10. Interlibrary Book Loans: As my experience above demonstrates, your library doesn't need to house a book on its own shelves in order to loan it to you. They can leverage the resources of all the other local libraries and take care of getting it to your home library in a matter of days.

9. Audio Books: Heard a good book lately? I found that since I began "reading" audio books a few years back, I am reading twice as many books each month --- and I don't know about you, but I have a To-Be-Read stack that overwhelms its assigned shelf, pours into my office, and flows into my upstairs hallway! Borrow an audio book and see if you like to "read" while driving, cleaning your office or folding laundry. I bet you'll be hooked, too!

8. Music CDs: Borrow some music that follows the theme of your book. For my Julia Child/France book club meeting, I brought Putamayo Presents: French Café and Paris Combo Motifs --- both courtesy of my local public library. The French music --- along with the yummy croissants --- provided a lovely ambiance for the reading group discussion. Just like Paris, but without the cigarette smoke!

7. DVD Movies: Planning a movie night to view the DVD version of a favorite book club read? Drive past those long lines at the video store and pull up to your local library. With a quick perusal of my local stacks, I discovered The Painted Veil, The Reader, and Seabiscuit. And if your club hasn't read the books they were adapted from, then you have some new suggestions for your next book selection.

6. Library Reading Groups: Most libraries hold at least one discussion group regularly, and larger ones conduct several discussions for different types of readers, including Sci-Fi, Mystery, Chick Lit, Romance, Classics, etc. Just as with private books clubs, there are probably as many discussion groups as there are book genres. So if you love Romance and your current book club has outlawed bodice ripping, then perhaps you can supplement your reading group experience at the library.

5. Book Club Discussion Kits: Many libraries have turnkey kits for loan to private book clubs. They usually include up to 15 copies of the book, perhaps an audio copy, a list of discussion questions and sometimes games and other activities. Hint: It's telling to peruse the list of available titles, since a professional librarian thinks these books have high discussion value.

4. Public Bulletin Board: Looking for new members for your group? Think about posting a notice at the library. Or you may find information on new book clubs if you're looking to join one. It's also a great place to see what else in going on at the library, which leads us to...

3. Author and Other Speaker Events: Have you thought about inviting an author to your book club but just haven't figured out how to make that happen? How about you and your reading group attending an author event at your public library? It's a great way to meet up-and-coming authors, ask the author those burning plot questions and purchase a personally signed copy of the book in the bargain! Also, many libraries --- especially those lucky enough to be near a college or university --- bring in other speakers who are authorities on a particular topic. For example, if the local French professor is talking about the summer she spent in France, this could also be a great outing for the Julia Child book group.

2. Worldwide Web Access: Is your kid hogging the home computer with that pesky homework? Take advantage of free computer access at the library to look up book reviews, recommendations, and book club tips on great sites like --- ahem --- BookClubCheerleader.com and ReadingGroupGuides.com to name just a couple!

1. Expert Advice: Although an obvious asset to most bibliophiles, it is so important that I had to list it as #1. Your local librarians are a wealth of information when it comes to recommending books for your group's selection. They know which books are more discussable than others, from classics to the latest mid-list sleeper. While you're getting reacquainted with your local library, be sure to get to know the staff as well!

Tell us what treasures you've discovered at your local public library. We'd like to hear how it has enriched your book club life!

2, 4, 6, 8, Who do we appreciate? Libraries!

---Marsha Toy Engstrom
The Book Club Cheerleader™
http://www.bookclubcheerleader.com/