THe RRPL did one the same time Austin did Bless Me, Ultima. We held 3 book discussion groups on the book and had between 6 and 12 at each discussion group. This was maybe 10 years ago. We started it up again 5 years or so ago and attendance varies. We don't know the magic bullet, except that Round Rock seems to like celebraties. We had Troy Kimmel talk a bit about hurricanes and showed Isaac's Storm, the History channel docudrama named after the book, and the book was our RR Reads. We had about 60 people show up for that event. ANother good turnout this year was tying the book to the Barnes and Nobles book club group that meets once a month. We had about 25 or 30 at that event, about 8 non-library/non-book club participants I think.
Otherwise, we have had only 10-15 show up for other events through the years related to whatever RR Reads book we've chosen, and we've always included the general population in selecting the title. And, it isn't for lack of PR-- we have Facebook, Twitter, website, multiple copies to check out (and they ARE checked out all the time, even with 10-15 copies), in-house signage, adult calendars, a 3,000 email mailout the city does that discusses the RR Reads program, the water bill statement that includes a newsletter-- can't get more comprehensive in PR. We deserve a John Dana Cotton award just for the PR effort, if not for the turnout. ANd, it may be that the power of TV, with Troy Kimmel telling folks about his appearance, even at the 5:00 news that day, made the biggest difference in the turnout in this market. And people did enjoy the popcorn and ice cream. So, it is a mixed bag. Our adult book clubs that we hold each month are lackluster, with no more than 7 or 8 people attending at the most, with more like 2-3 regulars, even though we offer it both night and day. We'll keep at it through the end of summer, and if that doesn't pick up, we'll probably retire that program or just limit it to the summer when we seem to have more attendees. I would think a community of 100,000 would do better than that, but with a growing list of other opportunities for people to be involved with things, we may not be viable in this area. We have the Sr. Center book club; the Barnes and Noble book club; and a LOT of neighborhood, friends, and church book clubs. And with 9,000+ attending baseball games 2-3 times a week on average, time does get eaten up pretty good in ROund Rock. Georgetown's Texas history/fiction book club does VERY well with over 30 people attending at times. It may be that theme that galvanizes new people in town. I believe a lot of Sun City folks attend that (and I know many of them). If LInda S. is on this list, she might be able to shed some other viewpoints on this as well. She even blogs about our book clubs-- forgot about that one. ________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] On Behalf Of Laurie Mahaffey [[email protected]] Sent: Monday, April 19, 2010 3:26 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ctls-l] One Book, One Community If you have done a “One Book” community reading program, would you please respond to Kim and the list? Several of you have done this. She would like your ideas. Thanks! Laurie From: Kim Kroll [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, April 19, 2010 11:39 AM Is there any information about how to host a Community reads one book program? Kim Adele Kroll Director Lena Armstrong Public Library P.O. Box 120 Belton, Texas 76513
