Book club programs in United States academic libraries: A survey

Though case studies, informal publications, and academic library websites indicate that book club programs are happening in United States academic libraries, there is a lack of broad research on these programs to indicate where they are happening, their format, and their degrees of success. Aiming to address this gap in knowledge, this data comes from a 2024 survey of United States academic library workers who have facilitated book club programming. The data provides insight into both trends and challenges surrounding book club programming in academic libraries and identifies best practices for practitioners, as well as a foundation for future researchers investigating these programs. 

Methods

The survey consisted of 34 questions and was created using Qualtrics. The survey questions were designed to address five main areas: institutional information, book club program planning, logistics, promotion, and outcomes. The survey included 29 closed-ended questions, with some questions including a request to “please specify” if participants had a different response, and five optional free response questions. Of the 34 total questions, seven were required. 

The survey instrument was submitted to and reviewed by the University at Buffalo Institutional Review Board and deemed exempt. Subsequently, the survey was open for four weeks in the summer of 2024 and was publicized on ALA Connect, the online community for American Library Association (ALA) members, as well as regional and state library listservs. The survey received 133 responses. Only the 119 participants who answered “yes” to the survey’s screening question were invited to complete the remainder of the survey. During the data cleaning process, twenty-six incomplete survey responses were removed. Additionally, one respondent’s answers were identified as inauthentic and subsequently removed. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and response categories for open-ended questions, including those provided in “Other, please specify” questions. Where appropriate, the “Other, please specify” responses were re-coded into pre-defined response categories. 

All open-ended text responses, including “please specify” responses for multiple choice questions, were removed from this dataset to protect the privacy of respondents.