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UCSB Reads 2022

Become a Book Club Leader

Although this year was full of uncertainty, being a leader for UCSB Reads gave me the opportunity to connect with an amazing group of students, to practice having difficult conversations by discussing important literature, and essentially created a community during this critical time. It has been incredibly rewarding. - Lupita Barragan, UCSB Reads 2021 Book Club Leader

UCSB Library is looking for undergraduate and graduate students as well as recent alumni to co-lead informal summer 2021 book groups reading books on the UCSB Reads 2022 shortlist. This is an opportunity for social and intellectual connections with other UCSB students outside of a classroom setting. The Library will provide you with free copies of the books, a $100 stipend, and resources to run a successful book group. Your co-leader will be another student or recent alum.

Listen to a podcast on Spotify featuring a discussion with Lupita about her experience leading UCSB Reads 2021 book discussions.

Find out more about being a discussion leader

Book Club Leader Responsibilities

Book club leaders will be given autonomy to decide when book club meetings are held and which book(s) the group will read. The UCSB Library will support leaders with free copies of the book, up to a $100 stipend, discussion guides, and be available for questions along the way. All book discussion will be co-led, so you are not alone in the process. The time commitment for leaders is approximately 10 hours. 

Leader responsibilities include:

  • Reading the book(s) 
  • One 50-minute meeting with Library before getting started
  • Reviewing guidelines provided by Library, including considering ground rules for the discussion
  • Reviewing publisher book discussion guide and/or coming up with alternative questions
  • Scheduling the discussions and setting up Zoom links
  • Contacting participants and sending reminder texts/chats or emails
  • Meeting for at least two one-hour discussions with your groups
  • Meeting with the Library for one 50-minute debrief session to discuss how everything went.