CCB Book Club Handbook



Canadian Council of the Blind Book Club Handbook

Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………….Page 1

About the CCB…………………………………………Page 2

Acknowledgements……………………………………Page 3

Book Club Benefits……………………………………Page 4

Similarities & Differences Between

Accessible Book Clubs & Others……………………Page 5

Steps for Setting up an Accessible

Book Club………………………………………………Page 7

Running a Book Club…………………………………Page 12

Formats and Equipment………………………………Page 14

Book Club Alternatives………………………………..Page 15

Sample Reading List/Order Form

for Club Members & CNIB Librarians………………..Page 17

INTRODUCTION

Book clubs are for all who love to read, and love to talk about their reading. This handbook takes you through the steps for setting up and running book clubs using books in accessible formats. Each of the following organizations provides a great starting point for creating an accessible book club:

• Your local Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) chapter

• Your local CNIB office

• Your local public library

ABOUT THE CCB

The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) is a community based, membership driven, national organization. Operating at the grass-roots level, CCB provides peer mentoring through a variety of activities ranging from youth to seniors’ outings while making new friends, sharing memories, stories, thoughts, feelings, successes or hardships. Our members are visually impaired, blind, or family/friends of those with visual impairments. Members strive to have fun, network, and find ways to improve their quality of life, through promoting accessibility and raising awareness.

By joining the CCB, chapters are affiliating themselves with a nationally recognized organization that has been in existence for over 65 years. Benefits to joining the CCB include the capacity to raise funds for chapter activities under a charitable number, liability insurance coverage, and a national network of support.

For further information on the CCB, please visit our web site at or call toll-free: 1-877-304-0968.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The CCB would like to thank Wendy Robbins for her hard work in researching and writing this handbook, The Community Foundation of Ottawa for their financial support, and especially Jane Beaumont, Chair, CNIB National Board of Directors, for her unwavering support of the CCB Ottawa Book Club, and equitable library access for everyone.

BOOK CLUB BENEFITS

Connections: Book clubs are a great way to socialize, to meet other book lovers, and to talk about the reading that matters to you.

Discovery: Book clubs expose you to new authors, new ideas, and genres you might not have read before.

Support: Members of accessible book clubs share experiences with their peers about ways to deal with the daily challenges of vision impairment and print disabilities.

Community: Book clubs can draw on the expertise of public libraries as well as organizations like the CCB and the CNIB, opening doors to other accessible reading resources and recreational activities.

Lifelong Well-being: Studies show a slower rate of memory loss is associated with an active social life!

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

ACCESSIBLE BOOK CLUBS AND OTHERS

In most ways, book clubs are all the same. Groups of people who have read the same book gather to discuss their impressions of what they’ve read. Some food and social conversation are usually involved. But special issues arise when book club members are blind, or have visual, physical, or learning disabilities that prevent them from reading regular print (also known as “print disabilities”).

First, options for books are limited to titles available in accessible formats, so selecting and acquiring books can be more challenging.

Second, the biggest source for accessible formats, the CNIB library, provides books in the DAISY format, so book club members need to have access to either a DAISY reader, or a computer with internet access to download from CNIB’s Digital Library.

Third, there can be practical issues in holding meetings involving visually impaired people. These can be solved with protocols such as starting with introductions around the room so that everyone knows who is there. The CNIB offers helpful information on making meetings accessible. ()

Some book clubs include both sighted and blind or print disabled readers. Members read the same book, using whatever format is most suitable, including print, large print, commercially available audio books on CD or MP3, or DAISY format books.

STEPS FOR SETTING UP

AN ACCESSIBLE BOOK CLUB

a) Find a place to meet. Some clubs meet at CCB or CNIB offices. Depending on your own community, you can also look for space in facilities such as public libraries or community centres. Book club members may prefer meeting spaces that can be reached by public transit, have parking, and are accessible to those with mobility issues. If you choose to meet in members’ homes, note that pets, as well as food or other allergies may be a concern.

b) Find book club members. Any organization or agency in your community which provides service to clients who are blind or partially sighted is a good place to start marketing your book club. In Ottawa, book club members are associated with their local chapter of the CCB. Public librarians may know who among their patrons might be interested in an accessible book club. When you’re putting out the word, don’t forget seniors’ centres and residences. Community newspapers and neighbourhood newsletters often have space for free public announcements. Local disability agencies and support organizations might promote your club to potential members.

c) Choose what to read. Many book clubs set aside an annual meeting to compile a reading list for the entire upcoming year. But how to decide what goes on the list? Different clubs use different approaches. The Ottawa club works with a public librarian. She comes to their annual “booklist” meeting with titles and plot summaries that she’s confirmed are available from the CNIB library. She includes titles she knows other book clubs have discussed, titles suggested by club members, and titles by authors the club has already enjoyed. The club discusses these suggestions, and decides on a list for the whole year.

In another club, members each select a book and bring their choices to the September meeting. At that meeting, they confirm whether or not the selection is available in DAISY format from the CNIB library. They also use recommendations from the CNIB librarians. After discussing the options they create a calendar of the books for the upcoming year. (See sample annual list below).

For other book suggestions, an internet search for “best book club books” will turn up numerous lists of titles and plot summaries from libraries, other book clubs, publishers, and book sellers. Search the CNIB library catalogue, or check with your public library to find out if accessible formats are available.

d) Name a club coordinator. Someone will need to coordinate the activities of the club, ensuring, among other duties, the timely ordering of books from the CNIB library. This is handled differently by different groups. In Ottawa, a CCB employee is both a club member and coordinator. In a small B.C. town, a public librarian organizes the club. In Winnipeg, a long-time volunteer proposed and now coordinates one of two branches of an accessible book club.

e) Acquire the books. The CNIB library has Canada’s largest collection of alternative format books, and supports book clubs as well as individual readers. You will probably find that most of your club reading will come from the CNIB library, although public libraries are also good sources for commercially produced audio books and DAISY books. Both the CNIB library and public libraries can assist your club with book list suggestions and finding reading guides, should your club choose to use these.

How you access the CNIB library for your club depends on whether your province is part of the CNIB Library Partners program. The role your public library will play in your accessible book club will differ depending on whether or not you live in a Partner province (one that helps fund the Partner Program) as follows:

• Acquiring books in a Partner Province

(Alberta, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories):

As you organize your book club, you’ll want to find a contact at your local public library. Starting at the information desk, find out if your library has someone who does outreach or accessibility, in order to connect with a library employee who can be an ongoing contact for the club. Once your annual reading list is finalized, your local public library contact can take over. Your public library contact will order the books from the CNIB library, receive them, and keep track of them in the library catalogue system.

For the book club, working with a partner library means that all the book club books will arrive at the same time, at the same place, and one person can pick them up and deliver them to the club. Also, it also means that it isn’t necessary for every book club member be a CNIB client to take part in the club, although he or she must have a print disability in order to use CNIB-produced DAISY books.

• Acquiring books in a Non-Partner Province

(British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon and Nunavut):

Once your annual reading list is finalized, your club coordinator will send the list directly to the CNIB library, and will send a reminder to the CNIB librarians at least four weeks ahead of the meeting to confirm which book you will require. Each member of your book club will need to be a registered CNIB library client.

The CNIB librarians will send out the books to each individual club member, and will do their best to ensure that club members receive the books around the same time.

Even in non-Partner provinces it can be helpful to involve your public library in your book club. Public librarians can contribute to your reading list selections. They can also help spread the word about your book club to potential members. And they can help your book club members discover the local library’s accessible book collection.

RUNNING A BOOK CLUB

Book club operations can be as simple or as complex as the members choose, and will probably evolve over time. But there are a few decisions your group will need to make at the beginning. Here are some questions you can ask yourselves (and remember, the answer is whatever works for your group):

a) How often will we meet? Many clubs meet monthly with a break during the summer.

b) What kind of books do we want to read? Are there some kinds that we want to avoid?

c) Do we want someone to lead the discussion with a prepared reader guide, or are we happy going around the table with our responses, and seeing what kind of discussion develops?

d) Do we want to rate the books we read?

e) Will we have food and drinks? Some groups meet where there are facilities for coffee and tea. Some take turns bringing homemade or purchased snacks.

f) How will we make room for the social part of the book group? Some groups save their social chat for afterwards, some do it first. And sometimes book discussions spark personal responses that take the discussion far away from the book, but may still be deeply rewarding.

FORMATS AND EQUIPMENT

The CNIB library provides books in DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) format. DAISY is the global standard for audio books produced for blind or partially sighted readers. DAISY users like them a lot: the sound is great, whole books fit on one CD, and they have navigation features that allow readers to go easily to specific places in the book.

DAISY books can be read two ways: either on a computer, or with a portable DAISY player. DAISY players can be purchased, but sometimes they may also be borrowed from public libraries, or from branches of the CCB or the CNIB.

The Ottawa CCB book club recently was able to upgrade DAISY readers for book club members thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation; there may be similar agencies or service clubs in other places that might help offset the costs of DAISY readers as required.

Some accessible book clubs also use commercially produced audio books (MP3s or CDs) borrowed from public library collections, but it may be difficult to acquire sufficient copies at the same time.

BOOK CLUB ALTERNATIVES

Mixed club: Sometimes existing book clubs are open to choosing books available in accessible formats, so that sighted and print disabled readers can read and discuss the same book together. One small town Alberta librarian noted that a “mixed” book club in her community provided a way for a reader who had lost her sight to reintegrate into her community.

Virtual club: Since 2010 the CNIB in Atlantic Canada has offered a Virtual Book Club. Using simple voice chat software called “TC Conferencing,” club members enjoy monthly book chats from the comfort of their own homes. Members need a computer with an internet connection, a microphone and speakers or a headset.

CNIB staff can assist with technical needs, and with acquiring books from the CNIB library. For more information contact Peter Parsons, Manager, Programs & Services, CNIB, Halifax, at 902-453-1480, ext. 261, or peter.parsons@cnib.ca.

Online book clubs: There are numerous book sites online where readers can discuss a wide range of titles and genres. In Canada The Globe and Mail has launched an online book club (), and the CBC has a CBC Book Club Facebook page where online book discussions can take place () .

Telephone club: In the U.K., the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) runs telephone book clubs. Groups of eight people, hosted by a trained volunteer, meet by phone over the telephone for an hour, once a month for six months. For more information on how these are operated, visit the RNIB book club site:

SAMPLE READING LIST/ORDER FORM

FOR CLUB MEMBERS AND CNIB LIBRARIANS

|Distribution Date |Discussion Date |Author |Title |Comments |

|Sept 13 |Oct 4 |Kate Pullinger |The Mistress of |Lady Duff Gordon is the toast of Victorian London, but |

| | | |Nothing |when her tuberculosis means exile, she and her devoted |

| | | | |lady's maid, Sally, set sail for Egypt. |

|Oct 4 |Nov 1 |Donna Leon |Friends in High |Commissario Brunetti is plunged into a world of |

| | | |Places |corruption and intrigue when he investigates the death |

| | | | |of a young bureaucrat in the Venetian planning |

| | | | |department |

|Nov 1 |Dec 6 |William Young |The Shack |In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly |

| | | | |irrelevant this book wrestles with the timeless |

| | | | |question, "Where is God in a world so filled with |

| | | | |unspeakable pain?" |

|Dec 6 |Jan 3 or 10 |Charles Portis |True Grit |Fifty years afterward, a woman tells how, as a girl of |

| | | | |fourteen, she, a federal marshal, and a Texas Ranger |

| | | | |tracked her father's murderer from Arkansas into Indian |

| | | | |territory. |

RESOURCES

Canadian Council of the Blind:

Go to “About Us” and click on “Chapter List” to find a chapter near you.

CNIB Library:

Everything you need to join and use the library can be found at this link, or by calling 1-800-268-8818. The “New Titles” list is a great way to browse for potential book club books in accessible formats. The CNIB Library also offers a DAISY Book Club Guide to help you organize a book discussion group using DAISY books from the CNIB Library:



The CNIB Library is also the way to involve kids with print disabilities in the annual TD Summer Reading Club:



Digital Versions of this document can be found at the Canadian Council of the Blind website at . Go to “Publications” and click on “Book Club Handbook”.

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“I like the fact that everybody has a different take on the book. You read it, you enjoy it, you don't, whatever, but once you discuss the same book, and you realize, ‘oh, I didn't see it from that angle, I didn't think about it like that,’ it sometimes causes me to go back and read the book again, which is wonderful because you read it with a new perspective.”

- CCB Book Club member

“I enjoy the variety of books chosen and the

variety of opinions expressed."

- CCB Book Club member

“It's such a nice activity because you get to see people and find out what they're reading other than book club books, and get names of new authors. One of the ladies in the club has given me a whole list of authors that she likes, so you can just go back to the library and pick up all kinds of new stuff.”

- CCB Book Club member

“You don't only share your ideas, or what you have learned from the book, but also how people are doing. Because we

are all visually impaired we have something in common

which is important to share.“

- CCB Book Club member

"I do tend to stay at home, so I tend to need that little kick in the butt to get me out the door, and this is something I can aim for, something I can do, and then once I'm out, I'm out for the

day, and I can enjoy just being out there, just walking down

the street and enjoying what's going on around me.”

- CCB Book Club member

“It’s a marvellous group and it develops

nice friendships too."

- CCB Book Club member

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