InterConnections Tipsheet Archive
Posted by: An online community for congregational book table folks has been created at http://uubooktables.forumsplace.com/.
The UU Book Table Forum provides a place to discuss problems and solutions, make book recommendations, hear about new titles, get new ideas, and support each other, says Jim Davenport, cochair of the bookstore at First UU Church in Columbus, Ohio, and creator of the online forum.
All bookstore managers, volunteers, authors, and other book enthusiasts are invited to contribute to the discussions, he says. “One of the hallmarks of a Unitarian Universalist community is the openness with which it embraces a diversity of thought and a diversity of people. To serve this questioning community, books covering UU thought, UU history, world religions, spiritualism, social justice, racial justice, GLBT justice, and much more are out there to be found. A UU book table finds these titles and gets them in front of the members of its community for their benefit.”
Davenport explains that, for people new to a UU church or community, the bookstore or book table can be “an inviting refuge amid the sea of well meaning but often daunting post-service fellowship. Visitors can explore the ideas represented by the books on the table, talk with other book-lovers, or just browse in peace.”
He adds, “Book tables are run by volunteers following their own ideas of what books to order and how to run the table. Sometimes they hope to contribute monies to their community from the book sales or at least not run at a deficit. There hasn’t been a good way for these book table managers to talk with their counterparts across the country and the world until now.”
An earlier InterConnections article on bookstores is here. Contact the UUA Bookstore for information on starting a book table.
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