Greetings Anna and Michlib, I receive the digest and Gmail makes it hard/impossible to reply to threads that way, so please forgive my out-of-thread response. In a previous job at a different library I ran a successful cookbook club from 2016-2020 (pre-COVID). The club met quarterly so I chose 4 books per year. My (flexible) criteria was to choose 1 general all-purpose title, 1 primarily vegetarian title, 1 international/cultural cuisine, and 1 wildcard. I purchased several copies of the book for our collection and made sure it was pretty available to request via interloan. I also kept a copy at the reference desk for people to browse and they could make copies (for free). I asked attendees to email their selection prior to the meeting, and I tried to keep duplicate selections to a minimum. The library provided all the plateware and beverages. On the night of the meeting everyone would come and set up their dishes. I made index cards available for people to label things and indicate allergens, vegetarian and vegan options, and etc. No one increased the recipe yields, everyone just took a little of all the dishes and there was always more than enough to go around. Once everyone dished up and had a little time to eat, we went around the room and each person talked about what they brought and the experience of making it. Our Friends group provided money so that we could give away 5-10 copies of each selection to registered attendees, which I did via a random drawing of registrants. People were always SO excited to get a free cookbook. Some highlights: - When we cooked *Sister Pie* we invited Lisa Ludwinski and she joined us for a celebration of her delicious pies - When we cooked *Vibrant India* many participants bought ingredients they'd never used before from a local Indian grocer who was very excited to learn about the club - When we cooked *The Outdoor Table* we did it picnic-style and met at a local park It is, hands down, my favorite library program I have ever done. I regularly had 40-50 attendees, ages 13-80+. Married couples attended, parents and their adult children attended, moms and their teens attended. People became friends and went out for drinks afterwards. It was enormous fun and also very professionally rewarding, I'd encourage any librarian who is considering starting a cookbook club to go for it! M. -- Maria Williams Assistant Director Northville District Library 212 W. Cady Street Northville, MI 48167 248-349-3020, ext. 208 mwilliams@northvillelibrary.org Currently Reading <https://www.goodreads.com/user/email_signature_destination/9555257?utm_medium=reading_link&utm_source=email_signature> [image: Book Cover] <https://www.goodreads.com/user/email_signature_destination/9555257?utm_medium=cover&utm_source=email_signature> [image: Goodreads Logo] <https://www.goodreads.com/?utm_medium=gr_logo&utm_source=email_signature>Get your own email signature <https://www.goodreads.com/user/email_signature_instructions?utm_medium=gyo_link&utm_source=email_signature>