When I attended Books on Tap, I invited my best friend. I helped the librarians who regularly run Books on Tap set up, as I was also there to learn how to moderate the club should there ever be an emergency. Those librarians had already arranged with the restaurant for us to have a table in the back of the room, cut off from the main dining area by a partial wall. We spread the ARCs that Collection Development had given us around the table for patrons to look at and choose from when they arrived. Patrons were allowed to take multiple ARCs as we receive so many it is, quite candidly, a great way for us as a library to get use out of the ARCs and also not to accumulate too many.
Patrons started to arrive. Eventually, the table was completely full. There were probably around 15 patrons, plus myself and the two librarians who usually run Books on Tap. There was a staff member there who was attending as a patron to socialize. All were women. One of the regular librarians gave a small introduction welcoming everyone to Books on Tap and sharing this week's question: "What are your reading goals for the year?" This question was discussed briefly, then patrons quickly transitioned to talking amongst themselves and with staff about what they were reading, ordering food and drinks, and welcoming someone to the group that hadn't attended before.
I talked at length with my best friend and the staff member who had attended on a social level about the book I was currently reading, The Only Good Indians, as she had also read it. I asked those sitting near me if they had to give birth to animal that was not a human, what would it be? (This was because of a plot point in The Only Good Indians and succeeded in amusing those who had read the book, but those who hadn't, like my best friend, were just grossed out. Whoops!). I also talked with those near me about reading preferences, the ARCs that had been brought, and about other things going on in the city. My best friend realized someone in the club knew her mother, and it became a moment of "oh you know this person? So do I!" for all of my best friend's family friends.
Books on Tap had a warm atmosphere and, in many ways, is most aptly characterized as a social club bolstered by a shared love for reading by the participants. I intend this to be read as glowing praise! We are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness in our society and an influx of artificial, stilted connections with others. Ironically, as I'm writing this post, I recall a TikTok I saw this month posted by the user @starsandthecosmos. I could not find the original post as this user posts multiple times a day. Regardless, this user discussed the epidemic of loneliness in our society and how clubs and social gatherings advertising "come here and make friends!" can often fall short of meeting that goal. They framed this as a heightening of expectations and an increased chance for participants to feel like they "failed" if they don't walk away from the experience feeling like they made authentic connections. Rather, an event advertising an activity or shared interest, like Books on Tap, is more successful at creating genuine connections between community members since there is that foundation of shared interest.
I hope my personal schedule lightens up a bit so I can attend Books on Tap again soon!
It sounds like quite a few people in this class went to this book discussion! This sounds like a fantastic event and a great place to socializer naturally. Great write up.
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