Chat Room: Time to Join the Club

Nicole Weber, a teacher-librarian at Norwalk (IA) Middle School, is one of the few librarians working on a way for students to discuss books online. "I know tons of preteens and teens who go home every night and hop on AOL [America Online] to chat with their friends," she says. "If kids are going to be talking about something in this mode, why not books?"

The time is right for electronic book clubs to boom, says Weber. She says that online groups are more practical for students who aren't old enough to drive themselves to the library to meet. Why aren't we seeing more online book groups, then? She feels that there are many librarians who find technology mysterious and fearful.

Weber has launched a book review Web site that's part of her school library's site (www.norwalk.k12.ia.us/schools/ms/mcenter/iowateenreviews.htm) and has worked with eighth graders, encouraging them to read at least one of the nominees for the Iowa Teen Book Award. Weber posts the student reviews on the site and has received many enthusiastic reactions from students. During the summer, Weber also works part-time at the public library, where she has created two Internet book discussion groups—a "Princess Diaries" group for girls and a "Guys Read 2" group for boys. She hopes to attract at least 15 members to each group. "Many teens see chatting online as cool and going to the library to talk about books as not so cool," she says. "I also think teens with disabilities and teens [who] would not normally be comfortable talking in front of others… would be prime candidates for this type of discussion." Homeschoolers could be another group of potential members.

Despite Weber's online successes, few librarians seem to be following her lead. Lynn Dennis, a technical services head/automation coordinator for Roselle (IL) Public Library (RPL), offers an explanation for librarians' reluctance to launch online book groups. "You have to be really committed to doing something like [an online book discussion group]," says Dennis. "Every time you say children and computers, people think immediately of pornography and other problems. You have to have the parent permission forms ready to sign." Most librarians that Dennis knows don't feel comfortable tinkering with the technology used to run an online group.

Dennis and Amy Cawley, RPL's head of youth services, are trying an experiment. They have subscribed to Blogspot (www.blogspot.com), a $50-a-year service that lets group members post their comments online. They're hosting a summer Blogger Book Club (bloggerbookclub.blogspot.com) for readers going into grades four through six linked from the library's site. Program participants will discuss the candidates for the 2004 Rebecca Caudill Award, the state's children's book choice prize for middle grades. In early June, Cawley said there were seven kids interested in signing up, and she hoped to sign up 15 to 20 readers by midsummer.

What's the best way to promote an online book discussion group at your own library? Librarians should remember that an online discussion group is new to most kids, too, no matter how Web-savvy they are. So do what the big commercially sponsored Web sites do—collect the e-mail addresses of your potential audience. Young Adult Librarian Beth Gallaway, who runs the "Pizza and Pages" book discussion group at the Haverhill (MA) Public Library, says her teen events often include a raffle. On the entry forms, Gallaway always asks for kids' e-mail addresses. It's a great idea—and you should use it, too. Put up a "Sign up for library news" box on your Web site—or better yet, gather some small but attractive prizes from local businesses, like CD cases, and post an e-mail collection box on your home page that reads "Sign up for prizes!" Gallaway hopes to start a monthly library newsletter for teens, but right now she e-mails announcements for programs like live author chats to all the teens on her mailing list. Gallaway is on the right track. Online book discussion groups are a great idea whose time has come.