The Westmoreland Library Network provides 77 book discussion kits for Libraries and other community-based book discussion groups.
There are 77 book discussion kits available for loan through the WLN. Each kit contains 10 copies of a single title, biographical information about the author, selected reviews, suggestions for discussion, and general information for book groups and readers.
Helpful FAQs:
How can I reserve a book kit?
Any community-based book discussion group may request a kit through its local library, which will then reserve the kit by providing the WLN office with the date the book kit should arrive at the library (not the book discussion date). WLN will do its best to make arrangements for any special circumstances. Or, you may contact the Murrysville Community Library Circulation Department directly at 724-327-1102 to reserve your kit.
How long may a book discussion kit be kept?
Kits may be borrowed for up to 8 weeks at a time. The kits are not renewable and fines are .25 per day. Replacement fees will be charged for lost items.
What happens if I lose the book kit?
The replacement cost for a WLN book kit is $100. In the event that a complete book kit is lost, the borrower will be responsible for $100 of the replacement cost. The true cost for 10 copies of the book plus other materials and staff time would be much more, but the System does not wish to discourage borrowing of the kits by holding the borrower responsible for a higher amount.
What if I only lose one book out of the kit?
The borrower is responsible for the cost of the item which is entered in the bibliographic record of the item plus a $3 processing fee.
Available titles:
- Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
Bel Canto: a novel by Ann Patchett
Blackberry Tea Club: Women in their Glory Years by Barbara Herrick
Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
The Captain's Wife by Douglas Kelley
Crucible of War: the Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 by Fred Anderson
Daniel Isn't Talking by Marti Leimbach
The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Galileo's Daughter: a Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
In the Name of Salome by Julia Alvarez
The Inheritance of Loss by Kirai Disai
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
Life is Not Work, Work is Not Life by Robert K. Johnston and J. Walker Smith
The Living by Annie Dillard
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
March by Geraldine Brooks
Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America by Les Standiford
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Midnight at the Dragon Café by Judy Fong Bates
The Miracles at Santo Fico by D. L. Smith
Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates
Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch by Dai Sijie
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Pope Joan: a Novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross
The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Stolen Child: a Novel by Keith Donohue
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Under the Banner of Heaven: a Story of Violent Faith by John Krakauer
The Valley of Decision by Marcia Davenport
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Women of Troy Hill by Claire Ansberry
The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks