[Publib] books for a citywide reads program

[Susan Simpson]

Hillary- We completed our first One Read last March, and I had many of the
same questions when we started. We selected a title (Captains Courageous) to
correspond with a major county event (Tall Ships); the title was a classic,
and available in paperback in many different editions. There is no formula
for the number of books to buy. You have to rely on your knowledge of your
community and your patrons. Our county population is 60,000; we purchased
250 copies of the book which is the amount the Friends of the Library would
afford. A hundred we gave away in random acts of literacy using
Bookcrossing.com; the rest we circulated. We had plenty of books sitting
around, and now that it is over I am trying to find homes for them. By the
way we made sure the Library Board members received free copies, and all the
County Commissioners. We had fun with the entire event and are now planning
another.
Susan W. Simpson
Carteret County Public Library
Beaufort, NC
http://carteret.cpclib.org


  -----Original Message-----
  From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Theyer, Hillary
  Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 11:26 AM
  To: publib at webjunction.org
  Subject: [Publib] books for a citywide reads program


  Hello PubLib,



  For those who have organized a "one city one book" or "citywide read" type
program, where the goal is for your entire community reads a single book and
then attend programs, discussions, and the like, how do you decide how many
copies of the book to provide?



  If you are giving the book away at various locations (at the coffee house,
at City Hall) and don't expect the books back do you buy more?



  If you are providing library copies for checkout, and want enough so that
nobody has to wait, but do want the books back, do you buy fewer?



  Do you do both?



  Is there a ratio of a certain number of residents means a certain number
of available books?



  Do you base the book purchase on library users rather than population as a
whole?



  How did you determine how many books to buy, and what did you discover?



  Thanks,

  Hillary Theyer

  Torrance Public Library (CA)




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