Contact: [email protected]

We currently support 14 groups which meet on library premises and have some staff involvement, and about 26 external groups who meet elsewhere and use their local library as a delivery/collection point.(Numbers liable to change as new enquiries happen often)

A boxed set of 12 copies of one title is available to be borrowed by any group using a special Readers Group ticket allowing a 3-month loan. I co-ordinate the booking system, which is still paper-based - we haven't yet worked out how to incorporate it into the electronic library system!Some groups like to arrange their programmes  up to a year in advance, some do 6 months at a time, some go from meeting to meeting , deciding as they go.

The choice of titles for the sets is constrained by budget. The initial list of about 20 titles was set up some years ago with a one-off lump sum. The commitment from the book budget now is for about 8 new sets p.a. which obviously is not enough, so we supplement it by using multiple copies which have been bought in because of other schemes, eg. Orange prize promotions, or the publisher's Book of the Month' promotion. Not all shortlisted books are suitable for a RG set - I do take a bit of an editiorial role here, in the absence of a dedicated literature worker post (we did have one... it was axed when vacant under a reorganisation.....)

We respond to suggestions from groups/library staff, but our main problem is that every group wants the latest must-have read at the same time.. The sets are amazingly durable - I have had to replace worn-out/damaged paperbacks but the 'classic' titles  (eg To Catch a Mocking Bird or The Wide Sargasso Sea) are still asked for as new groups join us.

I disband a set when it has had its useful life - I can see that from the dearth of future bookings.If any books are still useable, they are dispersed round the county as ordinary library stock.

The question of sharing /swapping sets with a neighbouring authority was once raised but it is a non-starter. We all have or want the same titles. The length of time it would take for travel/use would be unviable. Paperwork a nightmare. We couldn't see any benefit but lots of practical difficulties.