Friday, November 21, 2003

South Fulton’s library now home to book clubs

By LINDSAY BIANCHI
Special to The Citizen

It's hard to believe but people did read before Oprah. There have always been book lovers around, but usually they're so quiet no one ever noticed them until the talk show icon popularized an age-old activity and reawakened a nation to the joys of literature.

Book groups and the engaging discussion they foster have been popping up everywhere from Barnes and Noble to the neighborhood coffeeshop and from the house next door to the local library. Cheryl Miller-Holmes, branch manager for the South Fulton Regional Library in Union City, is adding a few more titles to the reading list.

Hired in June, Miller-Holmes met with her staff and was surprised to find that the library did not host any book clubs. She immediately set up a series of programs that addresses all age groups.

"I thought it would be a way to engage the community in reading," she said. "For the younger children, it's a way to make reading more of a fun activity for them and it provides an outlet for adults who already like to read."

Children as young as five can join the Preteen Select-a-Book Club which meets every second Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the library’s meeting room. Three age groups, 5-7 years, 7-9 years and 8-10 years, help choose their own book to read and discuss. Librarian Cheryl Small oversees the children's book clubs and includes a small craft project with the 5-7 age group.

The Teen Select-a-Book Club meets every third Wednesday at 4:30 in the Library Meeting Room. Their current selection, "Slumming" by Kristen Randle is being supervised by Gabrielle Taylor, librarian for the young adult section. Taylor has been with the South Fulton Regional Library for six years after receiving her graduate degree in 1997. Other titles for children this month include "The Skeleton in the Smithsonian" by Ron Roy and "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume.

Librarian Andrea Lewis conducts the adult book club which meets the fourth Monday of each month from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM in the Library Meeting Room. The group began its foray into fiction in August with "Vinegar Hill" by A. Manett Ansay and will be discussing "The Hearts Of Men" by Travis Hunter at their next gathering.

"They're all doing a wonderful job and I'm so pleased and excited because I'm an avid reader!" Miller-Holmes said

She wants to challenge the belief that people just use computers and watch TV and don't read for leisure anymore.

"That's not true. People do read for leisure." she insists.Ê Getting all age groups involved in the practice of exploring shelves, discovering ideas and making new friends both written and real seems to be a concerted effort at South Fulton Regional Library. To join in call 770-306-3092.