[Michlib-l] Summary of Book Club Kits Info

[Dillon Geshel]

Hello,

Thank you to everyone who responded to my request for information about
your Book Club Kits programs! I am sending out a summary of the responses
to Michlib-l. Many libraries sent me photos of their book club kits. I can
send those to anyone by request (I don't think I can attached or embed
images in Michlib-l posts). See below:

*Brighton District Library*
"I'm attaching a photo of one of our book club kits. We purchased them from
4imprint.com (item 123181) for about $300 for 50 bags. We've only had them
for a few months, so I can't speak to their durability, yet. Before these
bags, we had the kits in canvas totes and they always looked messy sitting
on the shelf. We really like that these will stand up on their own"

*Hamburg Township Library*
"We have purchased net bags from Amazon (see attached).  The books are from
our own library book club.  As soon as we have our book discussion, we
package up the materials and put them out for circulation.  Each kit
includes 6 books, laminated discussion questions, and laminated author
information.  The kits are labeled as “Book Club Kit” and circulate for 6
weeks at a time."

*Commerce Township Community Library*
"Hi Dillon, I asked the same question last year and didn't get much
response so I am for sure answering you. I did a lot of searching and found
a company that can custom make the bags for us. They are very sturdy bags
and I had them put the plastic pocket on the front so that patrons could
recognize the book at a glance. They are actually banking bags if you can
believe it. I'm attaching pictures of the bags with our imprint on them. I
think they came out to around $20 per bag, but so worth it. I chose blue
but they have many colors to choose from. Go on their website below and
scroll down."
https://arifkin.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Library_Catalog.pdf

*Lapeer District Library*
"Yes, we do have book club kits. They check out for 6 weeks and whoever
checks it out is responsible for returning everything in the bag in good
condition.
Each one contains 10 paperback copies of the same book (sometimes 11 if we
can get a large print copy) and 3 laminated sheets: discussion questions,
rules of use and a sign out sheet in a canvas bag. Each book is labeled
1-10 on the spine, so they can keep track of who has what book. The bags
have a string sewed into the bag with a ring attached that we can put a
laminated tag with a punch on it. The tag has the name and author on one
side and the other side has the barcode and how many items in the kit.
There is also a check in note on our circulation system with the number of
items the kit contains and staff have to verify the number of item when its
checked in or out. Please see the pictures below. Let me know if you have
any questions. I forgot to include that we order our bags from a company
called Amsterdam out of New York. https://www.amsterdamprinting.com/ "

*Troy Public Library*
"We ordered the bags from Business Image Experts in Livonia (most recent
quote attached). The bags aren’t cheap, but they are very durable
(heavy-duty canvas with zipper closure). We have been happy with how well
they’ve held up. For the tags, we have a photo of the book cover + barcode
on one side, and the circulation info on the reverse. We put them in badge
holders and they are attached to the kit bags with zip ties. I’ve attached
photos of the bag and tag as well."

*Southfield Public Library*
"I don't whether anyone from Southfield PL has responded yet, so if they
have, just ignore my email. But, we have bookclub kits. We just shelve our
copies on the shelve and have a QR code on the cover image above the books
that people can scan that will lead them directly to a list of questions on
our website. IF they don't use QR, then we can direct them to the webpage
that the questions are on. We don't use any packaging. People are free to
choose however many books they want to checkout for their personal
bookclub. We just remind them that if they pass them out to their friends
or family, they are still responsible for the books because they borrowed
them on their library card, not their friends'. So we have a separate
collection that we process as Bookclub books*."*

*Clinton-Macomb Public Library*
"We at the Clinton Macomb Public Library have kits for checkout. We use
bowling-bag style bags from Rifkin (I can’t find them on the site, but we
did reorder recently) that zip. We have ten copies of the book plus a
folder with questions in the bag. Often books have been catalogued for
individual checkout, since we make kits from books used for in-house
discussions. We then make those items non-circulating, basically. We then
attach to the kit with a zip tie an RFID barcode stuck to the back of a
printout of the book cover and laminated"



-- 
Dillon Geshel
Library Director
Portage Lake District Library
58 Huron Street, Houghton MI
(906)-482-4570 x2

Visit our website at www.pldl.org
Like our FB page at facebook.com/pldl.org


*The Mission of the Portage Lake District Library is to inspire our diverse
community to discover, imagine and connect. Our Vision is an educated,
connected community of readers, learners, doers and dreamers.*
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