Reading groups
We support nearly 100 reading groups across Staffordshire. Most of them meet once a month. By joining a reading group near you, you can make friends and enjoy trying books that you wouldn't normally pick up. Your library can tell you if there is a group near you, or give you advice on setting one up. The Reading Agency Reading Group Database lists more groups in your area, or you could also think about joining our online reading group, Book Chat that takes place on Facebook.
Existing Reading Groups
If you run a reading group, we run a service to supply Reading Group Sets.
From 1st October 2018, each group will need to make a 12-month subscription to access this service and to maintain a group membership. The charge for this replaces any request charges and overdue charges a reading group has previously been required to pay to access sets of books.
The 12-month Subscription Charges are:
- £40 for a Reading Group meeting outside the library
- £35 for a Reading Group meeting in the library
- £15 for an Audiobook Reading Group
The subscription allows each group the loan of 12 sets in a year from the Reading Group Sets List, without any further charges (lost and damaged items will still need to be paid for). Subscriptions are paid at the local library, from which sets are to be collected.
Reading Group Sets is designed to encourage each group to provide a named contact, who will email a completed form (57 KB) twice a year to set up the group’s requirements across a six-month period, but groups can still operate by making more frequent requests if they need to. In that case groups need to be mindful of supply times, allowing a minimum of 10 working days between when the request is submitted and when the group wants to collect copies.
Please check the Frequently Asked Questions which may answer your queries.