Book groups - share the enjoyment
Book groups allow people to come together to share their views on books they have read. Joining a book group can offer new insights into your favourite writers and introduce you to books you might not have thought of reading. Some public libraries run book groups as do local societies for the blind. Many are informal and you can even set up your own book group with your friends. If you want to know about groups in your area, ask your public library.
Calibre can support book groups if they are exclusively for people with sight problems or if some of the members are visually impaired. Under the scheme we will provide multiple digital copies of a book to ensure that all members of the group can read the same book at the same time. We have a good selection of titles available through the scheme but we are not permitted to supply commercially recorded titles to book groups. At present we can only support groups in the UK.
We can also help you if you are the only person in your group who needs audio books - please phone us on 01296 432 339 for information.
"Reading is quite a lonely activity. It is nice to come and share a book and get other people's comments."
Member from the Reading Borough Libraries Group
How the scheme works
There is a FREE three months' trial period to enable you to establish your group and try out the scheme. Download the application form here and send it to us by post or email:
Application form as a PDF - for printing off and completion by hand
Application form as a Word document - for use with your PC
When you complete the application form, please let us know which book you would like for your first meeting. It is helpful to give us one or two alternatives to ensure that we can supply promptly. Our collection includes a wide range of reading tastes including best sellers, classic novels, modern fiction and popular non-fiction. Please click here to see a list of books available to book groups. We request that you choose from these sets if possible, but your group may also choose two titles a year which are not already available as sets. Our full catalogue is given here.
Please note that we need at least one month's notice to supply and despatch the books.
All our books are provided on MP3 CDs. Some groups choose to transfer our recordings to USB memory sticks which can be used with a variety of players. If you are interested in this service, please contact Christine Ronaldson (01296 432339) to enable the necessary arrangements to be made.
As soon as possible after completing your form please let us have all your requirements for the first year, bearing in mind again that we need a month's notice. Again it is helpful to have alternative titles. You can borrow up to ten titles a year.
After the free trial period we will invoice you for one year as follows:
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up to 5 copies £75 plus VAT = £90
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up to 10 copies £150 plus VAT = £180
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up to 15 copies £225 plus VAT = £270
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up to 20 copies £300 plus VAT = £360
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- and so on.
There are no postal charges for groups of visually impaired readers as the books are sent free under the Articles for the Blind concession. For reading groups who are not visually impaired, we make an additional charge of £50 to cover postage.
Please get in touch with Christine Ronaldson if you have any questions - click here to email Christine.
