Website Tips: Book Clubs

Our website is full of helpful information regarding the services and items we provide system-wide and individually at the library. One of the most popular new pages and information we have is our book club lists page! Located at https://mcl.org/events/book-clubs/ or via the navigation menu: Events → Book Clubs, you can find a list of all the book clubs we offer at all the branches (including our virtual ones)!

On this page, you will find the date, time, and location of each book club along with the next upcoming book. If you select (click on or tap) “Click here to go to…”, you will be taken to the book club’s page that includes all of the past and any upcoming books selected for the club. This is useful if you are trying to understand what type of novels the book club reads to see if it’s in line with what you are looking for (see what kind of vibes the book club gives off).

If you click on the image of the book or the button that says, “Borrow It” you will be taken to the item in our catalog where you can put a hold on or see the availability of the book.

If you are looking for just the book clubs at a specific branch, be sure to note that the branch pages have the book clubs on them as well, in the exact same format that is discussed above. This way, if you can only travel to one of the branches, you can see only the ones at that branch. This saves you time from scrolling through the book clubs page looking at “Location”. You can navigate to specific branches via the navigation menu under “Branches.”

If you are someone who wants to enjoy a book club from the comfort of your home (or from the comfort of anywhere else), take a look at our Virtual Branch page located at https://mcl.org/branches/virtual/ or via the navigation: Branches → Virtual Branch & Digital Entertainment.

Lastly, if none of these book clubs sound like your cup of tea and/or you’re looking to start your own book club, I have another thing you can try out: Book Club in a Bag. Each bag contains at least six (6) copies of a book, biographical information about the author, discussion questions, a plot summary, and tips for the group leader. I like to call it a “No Prep, Only Read” Book Club where you don’t have to stress about coming up with the content. With over 80 popular titles to choose from, you don’t have to worry about trying to come up with a new title, either! Just go in order or randomly pick a number! You can find more information, along with the titles in our collection, at https://mcl.org/catalog/book-club-in-a-bag/ or via the navigation: Catalog → Book Club in a Bag.

Stay tuned for the next Website Tips blog! This blog comes out every 3 months and is written by MCLS’s very own Website Administrator.

- by Kim Livingston, Information Technology Department