Do you run a book club within Pickering? We're here to help!
Reserving Book Club Sets
To reserve a Book Club Set, visit the Book Club Set Reservation page. You will have the option to select a book club set by month, or by the book title. You will be notified when the set is ready for pickup. Book Club Sets are checked out to the member of your book club who reserved the set and are loaned for 6 weeks (no renewals). The person who checks out the set is responsible for ensuring the return of the entire set.
Book Club Sets are also browsable in the Central Libray lobby or through the Library catalogue.
Meeting Space
Each year the Pickering Public Library accepts applications from local book clubs that wish to apply for free meeting space. Please review the Community Book Clubs Policy for eligibility criteria.
Space is provided on a year-to-year basis and book clubs must reapply every year. Receiving space in the past does not mean that you will automatically receive the same space in the future.
Community Book Club Applications for September 2022 - June 2023 are now closed. Book Club Applications for September 2023 - June 2024 will open in April 2023.
Pickup Areas
The Central Library and George Ashe Library provide a space that book club leaders can use to leave books for their members to pick up for their book club meetings! Ask Borrower Services staff at either location for details.
The person who checks out the set will still be responsible for ensuring the return of the entire set. Once the book club set is checked out, the items for pick up can be labelled and left on the shelf. Shelf use isn’t limited to use by people who are using the book club sets, any book club can use the shelf to distribute items.
Please note: The Library cannot take responsibility for items left on the shelf.
Finding the Best Book Club Books
- Check out our staff-curated list of Best Book Club picks for 2022-2023 by clicking here.
- Use Novelist to find your next great Book Club read! After signing in to Novelist using your library card, click "Book Club Best Bets" on the left-hand side of Novelist's home page or type "GN Book Club Best Bets" into the search bar and hit enter.
- Can't find the book you're looking for in our catalogue? Check out our Interlibrary Loan page for information on how to request an item from another library.
Digital Library Materials for Book Clubs
Hoopla
Every eBook and eAudiobook title on Hoopla is available for simultaneous use, at all times. This means that an unlimited number of people can read the same title from Hoopla at the same time.
Hoopla also runs a quarterly Book Club where they pick a ‘Spotlight’ title and provide supporting content like discussion questions and author talks. To locate the current and past ‘Hoopla Book Club’ titles, and additional content: go to http://theclub.hoopladigital.com/, opens a new window, click ‘Current Spotlight’ or ‘Past Spotlight’ at the top of the page to find Hoopla’s Book Club picks. Each quarterly ‘Spotlight’ title has additional resources available to you.
CloudLibrary
Every title included on the 'Book Club Picks' shelf in the CloudLibrary app are available for simultaneous use - no holds or wait times.
Digital Book Clubs
- Libraries across Ontario and Canada often work together to provide our clients with special digital book club offerings. You may have seen these advertised as ‘One eRead Canada’ or ‘Big Library Read’. These are special initiatives that require many Libraries to pool their resources to offer a digital title for simultaneous use.
- These initiatives often provide additional Book Club content like discussion questions and events such as author talks/readings, Q & A sessions etc.
- These initiatives often pop-up with a short timeline which can make it challenging for community Book Clubs if they like to choose their titles in advance.
- In 2022, the ‘Big Library Read’ is scheduled for April 4-18, July 13-July 27 and November 2-16. During these events, one title will be available for simultaneous use through the OverDrive platform. The chosen titles will not be announced until closer to the event date. It requires a great deal of backend work for Libraries and Library Consortiums to organize these initiatives, which is why the titles are often announced later than some clients might prefer.
- The Library will continue to advertise these special Book Club offerings, and the chosen titles, through our Social Media Platforms (Facebook, opens a new window, Twitter, opens a new window and Instagram, opens a new window), and on the Library’s website once the information is available to us.
2023’s One eRead Canada initiative is Tatouine by Jean-Christophe Réhel, translated by Katherine Hastings and Peter McCambridge from the original French, Ce qu’on respire sur Tatouine. From April 1-April 31, 2023, Tatouine will be available for simultaneous use through Libby!
For resources for your Book Club, including discussion questions for the book visit: https://1ereadlivrelcanada.ca/resources/book-club-resources/
To whet your appetite, here’s a review of Tatouine:
“Réhel gives the reader a front-row seat to a baroque and often hilarious interiority – one that highlights the complexity and tragedy of the human condition, while playfully revealing the capacity of the human mind for turning the struggles of existence, large and small, into a source of amusement. […] In addition to the often-dark humour, Réhel has a poet’s eye for rhythm, repetition, and stark imagery that thankfully isn’t lost in the exceptional translation by Katherine Hastings and Peter McCambridge.”
