Please forgive any lapses in coherence in this post, I'm still very much in the fog of a head cold that I just can't seem to shake.
Today's class was interesting because reading and discussing what I have read are two of my favorite things, but at the same time I don't really have any interest in working in public libraries or in a position where I would be likely to run the kind of book club that we were discussing today. Thus I felt both engaged on a personal level and somewhat distant on a professional level.
This is not to say that I don't see the value in learning about and discussing different methods and approaches to book clubs. We never know where our lives or careers will take us and I'd rather be overly informed about areas that I may be less likely to work in than under informed and under-prepared. The hardest part was I had to keep reminding myself that the book club list of dos and don'ts were making applied to those leading the book club rather than the attendees. I kept thinking how bland a discussion would be with we didn't offer our opinions or only stuck to generalities, but no I'd have to remind myself this is for the facilitator and in that case it makes sense. I'm so used to being a book club attendee that making the mental switch is a little tough, I have lead book discussions in classroom settings before so the concept isn't totally foreign to me, but I had to keep reminding myself of what my role in the whole thing would be.
As far as applicability to my own career interests go I think that talking about the huge variety of different book clubs is an interesting way into applying the general book club model to unlikely situations. For example I want to work in a special collections library, not exactly a place you'd expect to have a book club. However, I could see implementing the thematic book club and or the online style book club within a special collections library. Perhaps focusing on themes related to the different collections each month, or reading books related to the primary materials held in the collection depending on what the collection is. The librarian in charge of the book club could bring a few things from special collection to each meeting to help facilitate discussion or could perhaps prepare some information on how the theme relates to the collection and let people go from there. It would be a bit trickier, but it could be a really interesting way to engage people with special collections.
Today's class was interesting because reading and discussing what I have read are two of my favorite things, but at the same time I don't really have any interest in working in public libraries or in a position where I would be likely to run the kind of book club that we were discussing today. Thus I felt both engaged on a personal level and somewhat distant on a professional level.
This is not to say that I don't see the value in learning about and discussing different methods and approaches to book clubs. We never know where our lives or careers will take us and I'd rather be overly informed about areas that I may be less likely to work in than under informed and under-prepared. The hardest part was I had to keep reminding myself that the book club list of dos and don'ts were making applied to those leading the book club rather than the attendees. I kept thinking how bland a discussion would be with we didn't offer our opinions or only stuck to generalities, but no I'd have to remind myself this is for the facilitator and in that case it makes sense. I'm so used to being a book club attendee that making the mental switch is a little tough, I have lead book discussions in classroom settings before so the concept isn't totally foreign to me, but I had to keep reminding myself of what my role in the whole thing would be.
As far as applicability to my own career interests go I think that talking about the huge variety of different book clubs is an interesting way into applying the general book club model to unlikely situations. For example I want to work in a special collections library, not exactly a place you'd expect to have a book club. However, I could see implementing the thematic book club and or the online style book club within a special collections library. Perhaps focusing on themes related to the different collections each month, or reading books related to the primary materials held in the collection depending on what the collection is. The librarian in charge of the book club could bring a few things from special collection to each meeting to help facilitate discussion or could perhaps prepare some information on how the theme relates to the collection and let people go from there. It would be a bit trickier, but it could be a really interesting way to engage people with special collections.
My class experience was similar to yours in that I knew I wouldn't be implementing the book club skills in exactly the way we were discussing; I'd have to tailor it to an academic library. We touched on it a bit in our mini-blogosphere and also maybe in class: that book clubs don't have to just be physically in the library, and they could definitely happen in academic settings. I liked thinking creatively about how to bring this kind of fun, educational, thought-provoking experience to students who might think they're too busy to read "for fun". The online book cub model might be an especially good fit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about it being a challenge to change from being a participant to being a less-opinionated facilitator. I've shied away from book clubs after a couple of outright-boring experiences, but the readings and discussions this week have gotten me interested in not only leading them, but participating in one again. There's also the issue of many of us being so ingrained in our ways as students-- we're supposed to speak up and share our opinions in class, and that can be a hard habit to break. I'm looking forward to practicing in a couple weeks-- both as leader and participant.
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