Book club kits offer one-stop solution for discussion groups
Working with teachers and local discussion groups, Elkhart Public Library now offers book club kits for quick and easy access to chosen titles.
Finding dozens of copies of a book for a discussion can be a months-long process.
For classrooms, teachers had to contact special inter-library loan services and hope they could get as many copies of the book as they needed.
Kelly Isenbarger, the media center specialist for Concord Junior High, says the courier service she used through the state was no longer available. So, she reached out to Allison McLean, head of the children’s department for EPL, to see what her options were.
The conversation led to the new library service.
“I talked to Allison about it, and she said, ‘Maybe you could shoot me some titles,’” says Kelly. “They chose among those but got the majority of them.”
The selection of kits, which debuted last school year, continues to grow. More than three dozen titles across genres for juvenile to adult readers are now available.
Juvenile and young adult kits come with 15 books, while adult kits come with 10 books and two large print editions.
The kits make it easy for book discussion groups, teachers and homeschoolers to pick up enough books at once. They come in a tote bag and are checked out for three months.
Picking up and dropping off at any EPL location made it much easier than past ways, too, Kelly says.
“The way I would do it before, I had to go through the state, six months in advance. The selection was fine, but I was able to get things I liked better from EPL. And I could pick them up and drop them off myself, instead of relying on a courier,” she says.
Last school year, Kelly used the kits for homeroom book clubs and a program she organizes called Coffee House Book Club.
It’s a chance for students to read more contemporary titles than were typically available through inter-library loan, she adds.
“The titles are more current, but there were some classics as well,” Kelly says.
Allison says creating a social experience around reading makes it more enjoyable for kids.
“One of the best ways to do that is for everyone to read the same book,” she says.
Currently, more than 40 kits containing young adult, juvenile, general fiction and non-fiction are available. Looking for a specific title? Submit a suggestion at MyEPL.org/suggest.