In order to have an effective and productive book club, each member of a book club should contribute by preparing for the meeting prior to and after. 

1. Setting the goals 
   1. Before members start their book club, they should be acquainted with each other. By getting to know others, members can feel more comfortable sharing. This makes it `especially easier when members share connections of what they read from a book in relation to their identity (Polleck & Epstein, p. 93).
   2. Following that, they should discuss and set well-defined goals and expectations for the book club. It is important for members to be on the same page so that no one falls behind. 
      1. Some key points to consider: 
         1. Time and frequency of the book club meeting so that goals can be realistic and timely (Corporate Finance Institute, n.d.)
         2. Style / Theme of the book club. Ie: The Make Something Book Club or Silent Book Club. (Lemay, n.d.)
         3. The pacing of the chapters 
         4. Form of communication for the group to keep in touch
   3. How you want the book club to progress is flexible. You can make the club as chill as you’d like or as academic as you’d like. As said by Luis, “Ultimately, a book club can be anything you want but a group agreement or contract is important in order to get the most out of the sessions.”
2. Moderators 
   1. Members of the book club should decide how to work out the moderation system in book club meetings. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to moderating but is a personalized system for each person (The Center for Professional Education of Teachers [CPET], 2017).
      1. There can be one person moderating the meeting 
      2. Two people can co-lead if they build off each other’s energy. 
      3. Each member can take turns moderating 
   2. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to moderating. Moderators should recognize them and act accordingly (CPET, 2017).
      1. If you are enthusiastic, carry that energy to others. Be sure to allow others to share out as well. 
      2. If you are more of the quiet type, allow members of the group to talk often by having them draw discussion questions from a jar. 
3. Roles and Responsibility
   1. Moderators
      1. Before coming to a meeting, moderators should prepare questions that can be discussed a few days before the meeting. They should also expect what most members would want to discuss and know key defining passages of the book. 
         1. Their role is to keep the conversation alive and going. In the event that the conversation is dry, moderators can try another approach such as reading the passage together. 
      2. Members 
         1. Members should be prepared to discuss the questions before the meeting. They do not have to write their answers in a well-developed paragraph as long as they are ready to contribute to the conversation. 
         2. Should members fall behind on the work, they should be transparent with their club members so that they can discuss possible solutions. 

 

References

Corporate Finance Institute. (n.d.). What are SMART Goals?

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/smart-goal/ 

Lemay, Shawna. (n.d.). 5 Kinds of Book Club. Transactions with Beauty. 

http://transactionswithbeauty.com/home/5kindsofbookclubs 

One Book, One New York. (2017). Facilitating a Book Club: Is there one right way? The Center

for Professional Education of Teachers. https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/one-book-book-club/facilitating-a-book-club-is-there-one-right-way

Polleck, J. N., & Epstein, T. (2015). Affirmation, Analysis, and Agency: Book Clubs as Spaces for Critical Conversations with Young Adolescent Women of Color. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 54 (1). https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol54/iss1/5