Ingrid regularly provides materials at Glen Allen's circulation desk for members who may not have time for their own research. Andrea presents a brief overview of the mystery author's life, career, and awards. In addition, she prepares handouts which include some of this information, along with a bibliography of the author's works, lists of books in series, and URLs of websites. All the moderators have on hand questions or quotations to stimulate the discussion, but even without these, the sessions are usually lively because members have their own questions and points to make. The goal is to launch the discussion in an informative and entertaining way and then keep the discussion on track.
Variety helps keep book discussions fresh and interest high among members.
To this end, all of the book clubs participate in and enjoy special activities such as guest moderators, video clips, demonstrations, and social gatherings. For a Gayton discussion of Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time, a patron brought in a videotape of Goodwin's own discussion of her work. Andrea organized a demonstration to show how the Internet can be used to research mysteries, awards, upcoming books, and critical opinion. For a session on Agatha Christie she showed a video of the author's life. Guest moderators have included present and former Henrico Library librarians who have a particular love of mysteries.