Book Clubs at the Stratford Public Library

By Melanie Kindrachuk

What can the Stratford Public Library do for your book club? Quite a lot!

At SPL we have a book club program which is open to any community book club in Stratford and area. All you need is a club name, and a coordinator to be in touch with the library (who will need to have an SPL membership). Then your book club can request titles that you’d like to read and the library will provide book club bundles for that title to the best of our abilities. To register your book club with our program, simply fill out the official book club request form and submit it – you will be added to the list of book clubs using the library.

The Book Club Program at Stratford Public Library

The Book Club page on the Library’s website explains all the ins and outs of using SPL’s book club program. Key points are that a title must have been published at least a year prior to your request, as our interlibrary loan system requires any loans to be at least a year old. In order to provide newer titles, the library buys in-house book club kits that you can also request – check the Bibliocommons catalogue to get an always updated list of the book club kits held by SPL. Requests should be made three months in advance of your meeting so the scheduling and ordering of interloan books can be accommodated.

The Book Club page on SPL’s website also offers up some resources for book clubs that you can check out, including a link to the Amnesty International online book club; the library is a member!

The newest addition to the book club program is a monthly newsletter to keep book club members and readers up to date on what’s happening at the library. Anyone can subscribe, you don’t have to be currently using the library’s book club services to join in.

Stratford Writers Festival Offers Book Club Event

The library is also partnering with the Stratford Writers Festival to host an exclusive book club event during the Festival. Toronto author Sarah Selecky is the special guest this year, and will be reading from her new novel Radiant Shimmering Light (now available as an SPL book club kit) and talking one on one to book club members while wine and charcuterie makes its rounds. We hope to see you there!

Written By:

Melanie Kindrachuk, a Public Service Librarian at the Stratford Public Library. She coordinates the Library’s book club program and specializes in Readers’ Advisory – matching up readers with the book they are looking for.