Skip to main content

Library Programs: Skype Book Club



I've been asked recently about the Skype Book Club that I run at my library, so I thought I'd share it here at GreenBeanTeenQueen!


I've always wanted to have a book club with my teens, but book clubs have a hard time getting going and working at the branch I work at. I think this is because I work with a lot of teens who are already involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. My branch is also hard to get to if you don't have transportation. So to make the book club a bit more enticing, I decided to try author chats mixed in with the book club format.


Skype Book Club is easy to run and tons of fun! The teens get together and we discuss the book, what we liked, didn't like and questions we have for the author. A lot of my teens are interested in writing, so they love hearing about the writing process and the road to publishing from each author. I typically pick one book to discuss by the author's we're chatting with, but if they've written more than one, we talk about their books in general in addition to the one we're focusing on. I also am not strict on making the teens read the book to attend. I know they're busy and we still have great discussions with those of use who have read the book. I always have copies of the author's books available to check out and the teens that haven't read the book are always eager to grab these at the end of the meeting.


After we've chatted about the book (about 15-20 min.) we call our author via Skype. This is super easy to use and it's great for author visits because it gives the teens a chance to see the author. I love this because we don't often have the ability to bring authors to our library for formal visits and signings, so this gives the teens a chance to connect with authors.


How do I get authors to participate? I just ask! I send e-mails to authors my teens have mentioned or recently read. I explain what the Skype Book Club is, that I'd love to invite them in for an informal Q&A session with the teens, and some available dates of our upcoming meetings. No, I don't have any special friendships or pull with authors and no, I can't connect you and get you an "in" with authors. If you do attend a library conference, like ALA, connect with publishers and ask if they have authors who skype. Attend author signings and ask if they do virtual author visits-many authors have this information at thier signings already and are happy to tell you about it! There's also a Skype an Author website with a list of authors who Skype-great for finding authors! Don't take it bad if the author says no or it doesn't work out. It's not you, it's just sometimes library scheduling doesn't work with an author's schedule. Also, remember that even though it's a virtual visit, it's still a professional visit, so give your authors respect and treat it like they were physically there visiting your library.


Skype Book Club can also be a great way to encourage teens to try new authors and promote authors . Yes, when I ask my teens who they want to Skype with, I always hear Meg Cabot, Suzanne Collins, J.K. Rowling, James Patterson, Rick Riordan. That would be awesome, but these authors are very busy and are being asked for author visits all the time! So don't be afraid to start smaller and maybe someday you might get one of your dream list authors to visit! (A librarian can dream, right?:)


How do I promote the club? It gets advertised in all our library promotion. In addition to that I invite teens on Facebook, post it on the library teen page blog, send e-mails to my mailing list of teens, and spread the word to the area school librarians (these are great connections and be wonderful in helping spread the word about book clubs!) And of course, I tell the teens and they tell their friends-never underestimate word of mouth!


So far we've hosted four Skype Book Club chats and each one has been fantastic! The teens love the chance to connect with authors and the authors get a chance to hear from readers who have read their books. It's fairly easy to set up and run-and it's a blast! I love hearing from the teens how they love talking to authors and how every author we talk to is so cool (I agree!).


I'm toying with the idea of someday doing an online chat with an author so teens wouldn't have to be at one specific branch (or even at the library at all) to participate. There are so many cool options for virtual visits and it's a great way to connect teens and authors.


If you've hosted virtual author visits at your library or school, I'd love to hear about them! I'm always interested in how libraries do this!

Comments

  1. We do chat -- haven't done skype just yet, but we will at the end of April. For chat, we've done it two ways: via facebook and via chatzy. Facebook was good in that we could see when the author was typing, which the kids loved. You can't see that on chatzy, but you COULD have a chatzy so the kids who aren't in the library can participate, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ohhh I love this. So much. People working with libraries (especially in the teen programs) rock. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, this is a wonderful idea. I never even thought of it! When I'm back to work in libraryland, I will definitely use this. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a great idea! Book clubs have not been very successful at my library but this is a bit of a new angle on it so I may have to give it a try come fall.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is an awesome program, Sarah! I would love to do something like this with the public library in the future, but right now I'm trying to revive our teen advisory board and bookclub.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds awesome! I know the Central Teen Annex here has done a couple of Skype visits, and they seem to have worked out really well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like this past weekend's author chat went well! I loved the one with Maggie Steifvater we did last year! Keep up the WONDERFUL work, Sarah :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! As an aspiring author, I love this idea.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love Skype book club so much. :P Seriously, talking to Stephanie was one of the best experiences I've had.It pretty much cements your spot as best author ever.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's great to see a librarian making authors accessible to kids via new technology. I actually am a Skype an Author and would love to Skype chat with teens. My book comes out April 1, 2011 as an eBook then print a few months later. http://seraphymwarsodessa.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love Skype and author and know many authors who list there. Sharing your link with my boss at Simon & Schuster. Thanks for this helpful post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have done a few Skype visits recently and I think they're just great. I get to answer questions and interact with the kids just like on a "real" school visit, and the kids can hear my dog barking and see what a mess my dining room is! I'm listed on Skype an Author too; it's a great resource.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from other readers! Share your thoughts and chime in!

Popular posts from this blog

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Realistic Fiction Release Date: 2/26/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Eleanor and Park are both misfits. When new girl Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, they don't want anything to do with each other. But over the course of the school year, things change. It starts with comic books and becomes a friendship and a romance that the two will never forget. You never forget your first love. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Have you ever had a book sit on your shelf that you've heard so much hype about? And you think that books sounds like it would be right up your alley, but you're in a reading slump and you're afraid to give it a try unless it fails? I knew Eleanor and Park sounded like my perfect book, but I was in such an after committee slump that I even though I knew this book would help, I just didn't want to be disappointed. I should have known better because Eleanor and Park was perfect and everything that I had hoped it wou

Contact Me

  I love to hear from fellow readers and librarians! Send me an email to say hello! You can reach me at greenbeanteenqueen (at) gmail (dot) com

Post Downton Abbey Reading List

Downton Abbey is over (with a shocking and frustrating ending!) and now I'm suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal. I've got a reading list full of books that I hope will satisfy my post-Downton Abbey cravings and I thought I'd share what's in my pile and get suggestions for other after Downton reads. Here's what I hope to be reading this year (a mix of YA and adult titles):                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A couple Julian Fellowes reads:                And a few re-reads:                    Edited to add: What's on your Post-Downton Abbey reading list?