[Michlib-l] Cookbook Clubs

[Maria Williams]

Greetings Anna and Michlib,

I receive the digest and Gmail makes it hard/impossible to reply to threads
that way, so please forgive my out-of-thread response.

In a previous job at a different library I ran a successful cookbook club
from 2016-2020 (pre-COVID). The club met quarterly so I chose 4 books per
year. My (flexible) criteria was to choose 1 general all-purpose title, 1
primarily vegetarian title, 1 international/cultural cuisine, and 1
wildcard. I purchased several copies of the book for our collection and
made sure it was pretty available to request via interloan. I also kept a
copy at the reference desk for people to browse and they could make copies
(for free). I asked attendees to email their selection prior to the
meeting, and I tried to keep duplicate selections to a minimum. The library
provided all the plateware and beverages.

On the night of the meeting everyone would come and set up their dishes. I
made index cards available for people to label things and indicate
allergens, vegetarian and vegan options, and etc. No one increased the
recipe yields, everyone just took a little of all the dishes and there was
always more than enough to go around. Once everyone dished up and had a
little time to eat, we went around the room and each person talked about
what they brought and the experience of making it.

Our Friends group provided money so that we could give away 5-10 copies of
each selection to registered attendees, which I did via a random drawing of
registrants. People were always SO excited to get a free cookbook.

Some highlights:

   - When we cooked *Sister Pie* we invited Lisa Ludwinski and she joined
   us for a celebration of her delicious pies
   - When we cooked *Vibrant India* many participants bought ingredients
   they'd never used before from a local Indian grocer who was very excited to
   learn about the club
   - When we cooked *The Outdoor Table* we did it picnic-style and met at a
   local park

It is, hands down, my favorite library program I have ever done. I
regularly had 40-50 attendees, ages 13-80+. Married couples attended,
parents and their adult children attended, moms and their teens attended.
People became friends and went out for drinks afterwards. It was enormous
fun and also very professionally rewarding, I'd encourage any librarian who
is considering starting a cookbook club to go for it!

M.

-- 
Maria Williams
Assistant Director
Northville District Library
212 W. Cady Street
Northville, MI 48167
248-349-3020, ext. 208
mwilliams at northvillelibrary.org

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