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Library Club Looking for 'Happy Bookers'By Jen Thomas - April 29, 2008
iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS — Prompted by dozens of comments from area residents, the North Adams Public Library has formed "The Happy Bookers," a monthly book discussion club.
Facilitated by Maureen O'Brien, the club had its first meeting earlier this month with only a handful of participants. According to reference librarian and the group's organizer Robin Martin, attracting adults to the library's programs can be a little difficult.
"We could run a children's program and 200 kids will show up but we run one for adults and we only get a couple," said Martin, who already leads a different book discussion/special programming group at the library.
The group read Dennis Lehan's "Shutter Island" for their first meeting and is currently reading Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
"I chose the books but when the group gets larger, we can see what others want to read," said O'Brien, who said she reads between five and seven books a week. "It's not hard to find books. They release 10,000 a year. As we move along, I'll see if people want to read classics or maybe we can stay current. We'll just have to wait and see."
Martin and O'Brien said the inspiration for the book club came from survey results that asked patrons what offerings they'd like to see at the library.
"People were really interested in a nighttime discussion," said Martin.
Set for the first Tuesday of every month, the book club meetings will typically last no longer than an hour. Aiming to have eight to 10 people per group, the Happy Bookers will introduce readers to new titles while giving them a chance to give their input on future selections.
"The hope is that people who filled out the survey and said they wanted a club will start showing up. We want everyone to have a chance to voice their opinions," said Martin. "The people who do it love it."
Saying the group urges people to "try things they normally wouldn't," Martin noted that the book club is open to all adult readers and could possibly stretch into more than one group if enough interest is generated.
For O'Brien, who has never before led a group, the Happy Bookers is a chance to continue doing what she loves the most.
"Robin asked me to do this just because she knew I liked to read and at first, I said "no." But it's one of the things I love to do so I thought "What the heck." I read and talk about the books anyway so how different could it be?" she said.
"I just hope more people start coming," she added.
With a newly remodeled conference room in the Church Street building, Martin said she hopes readers will take advantage of the book discussion offering.
"We try to be a community place and we have this beautiful new space. We want people to come in and enjoy their library," she said.
The Happy Bookers meet the second Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The next meeting is May 13. For more information, contact Martin at 662-3133. |
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