Book Clubs FAQs

  • General Questions

    Book club bags are a tool for Omaha Public Library cardholders. As a convenience to book club members in the Omaha area, OPL lends a bag that includes a notebook with instructions, reviews for the title, biographical information about the author and discussion questions; multiple copies of the title; and a tracking sheet. Some kits may also contain a spoken CD and a large print copy.

    All book club bags can be viewed in the OPL catalog. To find titles that are currently available search the OPL catalog for book club kit and filter the results by Available Now -- Anywhere. Find what’s available now. You may also refine your search by audience, genre or author to find books of interest to your group.

    The newest book club bags can be searched in the OPL catalog by searching book club kit and sorting by date acquired. Find the newest here.

    The Book Clubs page of omahalibrary.org  offers resources to find titles, book discussion guides and other book club resources.

    Book clubs can also utilize OPL’s Custom Reading List form to receive a list of titles suggested specifically for your book club’s interests.

    The Well-Read Collective, a team of OPL staff focused on connecting readers with their next favorite book, can offer recommendations in the form of title lists, book reviews, custom reading lists and blog posts.  

    Yes, OPL gladly takes requests. Suggest the purchase of a book club bag through the online suggest a purchase form.

    Return your book club bag to any Omaha Public Library location.

    If you would like an OPL staff member to help lead your book club discussion, talk about related titles, or help set up a new book club, please contact OPL’s Book Club Librarian.

    Douglas County residents with a library card account in good standing can check out up to 40 items at a time. Each book club bag counts as one item. There are no additional restrictions on book club bags.

    OPL's catalog does not have a scheduling feature. You may place a hold and use the pause feature to control when your hold is fulfilled. For more details, click here.

    Making book club bags available in the catalog allows for immediate access at any OPL location. This service can now be utilized by more patrons, and  is easier to view, reserve and check out OPL book club bags.

    If there are no holds on the bag, it can be renewed to allow more time for the item to be returned to you. The bag will remain checked out to you until all items are returned or a replacement fee for the item has been paid. Please speak with a staff member if a book club item has been lost or damaged. Be sure to use the log sheet included in the readers' guide to track which person takes each book.

    Yes, OPL has book club bags to accommodate all ages. There may be 10 to 20 books of the same title in each bag. When available, the bag includes a spoken CD and a teacher’s literature guide with lesson plan ideas and activities.

    Find instructions on reserving items here.

    Each book club bag has a six week loan period.

    If there are no holds requested on a bag, it may be renewed up to four times.

    If a book club bag is not returned within 21 days of the due date, patrons will be billed for the full replacement cost of the bag.

    A fee will be assessed for any damaged or lost book club bag, individual books from a book club bag, and book club guides. Damaged or lost book club books, book club bags, and book club guides will be charged to the person who checked out the item.

    With permission, you may designate another person to pick up your book club bag. See details here.

    If you need more copies of a specific title, a staff member can help you search OPL's catalog for additional items available to borrow.

    Any available bag currently not on hold by another patron can be reserved in OPL's catalog or checked out from its location. All OPL locations have a browsable collection of book club bags.