Readers' Groups Made Simple
Introduction
This toolkit is for anyone interested in setting up a readers' group.
It has been compiled by the regional reader development co-ordinator of Time To Read (TTR), which is a partnership of staff working to widen the audience for reading in NW England's public libraries. The toolkit has a bias towards groups operating in public library settings, but may be of use to anyone wanting to know more. It concentrates on groups for adults.
I always to refer Readers' rather than Reading Groups as I believe this name emphasises the importance of the social aspect of getting together to discuss reading. They are of course, often referred to as Reading or Book Groups. The main purpose of library-based readers' groups is to provide a social opportunity to talk about reading in an enjoyable and relaxed manner. They should not be academic or exclusively highbrow. That does not mean that many discussions will not be serious, informative and inspirational.
Many colleagues in NW Libraries have been consulted during the writing of this toolkit and it includes a wealth of experience, which we hope will be useful to others. There are no "rights and wrongs" to running a readers' group and every group will be made different by its unique membership.
Librarians in the North West have pioneered partnership working to encourage new readers into libraries. Time To Read is a partnership of librarians engaged in reader development activity in public library authorities in the North West Region. All 23 public library authorities in the region currently support Time To Read.