Welcome to the Book Club in a Bag Program, brought to you by participating libraries of the Mid-Hudson Library System.

Each bag contains at least 10 copies of a title, discussion questions, discussion leader tips and a book sign-up sheet to help the leader keep track of the books. Everything you need to help you run your own book discussion group!

• Borrowing Policy
  • Any patron of a MHLS member library may borrow a bag.
  • Requests for kits must be made through a library staff member by phone, email or in person.
  • The bag will be checked out on the library card of the person picking up the bag. That patron is completely responsible for the bag and all of its contents.
  • You may reserve a bag up to a year in advance.
  • The loan period is 6 weeks.
  • No more than 2 kits can be borrowed at one time by a patron.
  • Kits may be renewed once if no other group has reserved it.
  • Check contents before returning the kit. The replacement cost of an entire kit is $170.00. The replacement costs of individual parts of the kit will depend on the cost of each particular item.
  • Please note that you may not keep a bag past its due date, if you do, you will be billed for the entire bag.
    
    
• Available Titles
  
  
• Discussion Leader Tips
  
  
• How Your Book Discussion Group Can Help: You can help build the Book Club in a Bag program by donating copies of books your group has read. This will be a great way for area groups to share not just the titles of what they've read and enjoyed, but the books themselves.
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
  Q. One of my group members forgot to return their book, who is responsible?
  A. The person who borrows the bag is completely responsible for the return of the bag and all of its contents.
  
  Q. My group meets monthly, can I borrow a bag every month?
  A. Check the Availability Calendar, this allows you to see what title is available and when, up to a year in advance. You may have up to 2 bags at a time.
  
  Q. I can't remember what was in my bag when I got it, how do I know what to check for before returning it?
  A. Look at the tag attached to your bag, the bag's contents are listed there.
  
  Q. Can my group members return their own books to the library?
  A. No, the Book Club in a Bag must be returned with all copies of the book at the same time.
  
  Q. What if a book is lost?
  A. If your group loses a book you have two choices: replace it with another copy of the book, new or second hand, that is clean and readable or the library will bill you for the book.
  
  Q. May I place a hold on a Book Club in a Bag from the online catalog?
  A. No, the Bag must be reserved through a library staff member at any MHLS library
  
  Q. What if my group has more than 10 members?
  A. Use the MHLS Public Library Catalog to request more copies of a title as needed.
  
  Q. Someone in my group prefers large print books, how can I help them?
  A. Use the MHLS Public Library Catalog to request the title in different format: large print, book on cassette, book on CD (or even the movie version of some titles!).
  
  Q. Can my book club suggest titles for the program?
  A. Contact your local library and let them know your ideas! Or donate your copies of titles your group has purchased so another group could borrow them!

  Q. Where can I get other ideas for books to read with my book club?
  A. Your local library staff is a great resource for this! Just ask them!
  
  Q. If my local library is not a "participating library" may I still borrow a bag?
  A. Yes!
  
  Q. Does my local library have space for my group to meet?
  A. Give them a call and ask! Many do. Library contact information.