Setting Up Your Reading Group

Reading groups can come about in a variety of ways and be driven by different motives. If you were to ask a range of colleagues how their reading groups originated they would be likely to give you one of these answers:

• My manager told us that we ought to be doing more to attract teenagers to the library so we put up some posters advertising a young people’s reading group.
• A couple of our keen readers came up to the counter and asked if there was a reading group which they could join. There wasn’t so we set one up for them.
• Our authority has committed to running four Chatterbooks groups each year. We were told that our library had been selected so we went to a Chatterbooks training day and then set up our first group.
• We’re working to the Improvement Model of Fulfilling their Potential. Young people’s reading groups are mentioned in that, so we decided to run them in our libraries.
• A group of young people asked if they could run a reading group in our library. We thought this was a great idea so we gave them a budget for refreshments and let them meet after school.
• We wanted to work in partnership with the local school in some way. They suggested a reading group so now one of our staff goes over to support a group in the school library.
• We’re involved in the Carnegie and Greenway shadowing. We thought that reading groups would be a good way of working with children and young people.
• Sedgefield Library set up a reading group especially for a group of young women who asked for one.

There isn’t a right or wrong way to establish a reading group; what’s important is that you are open to working with children and young people to provide the kind of group that is enjoyable to them. The best way to do this is through effective consultation, partnership, planning and recruitment.

Consultation

Before setting up your reading group, it’s a good idea to consult with young people about the kind of group that they’d like to join. This ensures that the group that you establish is relevant and appealing. It also ensures that young people feel they have ownership of the project. Consult with young people in the library and in the local area through schools and youth groups.

Talk too with staff in any partner agencies, with teachers, and with parents and carers of younger children, to find out about what is already provided for young people in the area and how a reading group might link in. 

The TRF website section Involving and Consulting with Young People  has more information on this. Remember that the ideal scenario is for consultation to become an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-off activity.

Partnership

The list of potential partners for reading groups is extensive. Try Sure Start for young children’s groups, primary schools for Chatterbooks, youth clubs for young people’s groups and community groups or Social Services for making links with Looked After Children or refugee groups. Local bookshops might also be interested in working with you. Talk openly with your potential partners and make sure that you have complementary aims and approaches before setting up a group. See the TRF website section The importance of partnership (in Getting Young People on Board) for more information.

Planning

Planning should be an integral part of consultation and partnership. Ideally think about establishing aims, rules, reading lists, timings and refreshments in conjunction with the group members. You might even consider allowing the group to self-govern with library staff playing a supportive role. Ask young people about the amount of input they would like the library to have. Things to discuss might include:

• How often to meet: once a week is probably too often, once a month might lose momentum.
• How long to meet for: younger groups are likely to have lower concentration levels than older teenagers. Somewhere between 1 and 2 hours is likely to be about right.
• Whether to read the same book, themed books, books by the same author or a personal choice.
• Whether supplementary activities such as quizzes and crafts are needed.
• What refreshments would be appreciated!

Recruitment

Recruitment should begin with consultation and partnership. By the time you’ve met with partners and young people, establishing the group should be easy. Supplementary approaches might be:

• Flyers and posters in libraries
• Flyers and posters in schools, youth groups and other organisations
• Press releases for the launch
• Letters to parents
• Talks to school classes
• Information on library websites and other young-people friendly websites

Publicity and Promotion

To keep up the profile of your group for young people who might want to be involved - and for celebrating the group's achievements, and attracting potential partners or library advocates, your publicity could include:

• Governors' meetings, parents' evenings & open days – keep the project high profile and ensure parents' involvement in groups for younger children
• Include notices about the group in school newsletters, and the School Library Service newsletter
• Set up a reading group notice board in the library
• Advertise the group on your library service website
• Send a press release to local papers and radio/television – and when the group is running invite a local journalist to join in a meeting