The History of Let's Talk About It
A book discussion group that began in the mid-1970s among friends in a small Vermont town was the catalyst for Let's Talk About It, a national humanities program that brings adults to the library to discuss books and to explore contemporary life and culture. Let's Talk About It participants read five books related to a single humanities theme and discuss them under the guidance of a humanities scholar. Scholars play a central role in Let's Talk About It programs - they are the humanities link between the book and the reader.

How it began
The American Library Association (ALA) launched the nationwide Let's Talk About It program in 1982 with a $1.5 million grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). ALA developed six discussion themes and sponsored regional workshops throughout the U.S. to teach librarians how to organize Let's Talk About It programs. Subsequent NEH funding helped more than 300 libraries in 33 states start their own Let's Talk About It programs.

How it has grown
Since 1982, the Let's Talk About It model has spread to communities of all sizes in every state and the District of Columbia via state humanities councils, state libraries and centers for the book that organize Let's Talk About It series for libraries in their states. Tens of thousands of men and women across the country have taken part. For example, in recent years, more than 30,000 Michigan residents have participated in Let's Talk About It programs at 230 libraries in the state. In Connecticut, an annual series of state library sponsored Let's Talk About It programs draws thousands of people to libraries all over the state.

Why it is so successful
The success of Let's Talk About It is rooted in the simple pleasure of reading a book and discussing it others. The LTAI model lifts informal discussions to a more rewarding level by introducing critical essays on the books and bringing a scholar into the discussion to help connect text, concepts, critique and scholarship.

Who sponsors it now
Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature themes and grants are supported by Nextbook, a gateway to Jewish literature, culture and ideas. In several states, the state library, center for the book, or humanities council administers Let's Talk About It programming for libraries. A few humanities-oriented regional umbrella groups also conduct reading and discussion programs in their areas. For information about these programs, please visit our Planning Resources page.

Many libraries continue to use the Let's Talk About It themes developed by the ALA, which now number 22. All of these themes are still available on our Discussion Themes page. Others have created their own themes and materials using the Let's Talk About It model.

Program model
In a standard series, participants meet five times - every other week for 10 weeks - to discuss the five books related to a theme. At each session, the scholar gives an overview of the author's background, the key ideas in the book, how the book relates to the theme and other relevant matters.

Participants then gather in small groups with discussion leaders for 30-40 minutes. The scholar spends some time with each group before everyone reconvenes for a brief closing period of questions and comments. Libraries have also been successful with modifications to this format determined by their local circumstances, goals, and patron needs.

What we've talked about
The ALA has developed 22 themes over the years. These include:
Being Ethnic, Becoming American: Struggles, Successes, Symbols
End of the World or World Without End: Readings for the Millennium
Exploring the West...Whose West?
Isabella's Sisters: Women Creating Worlds
Long Gone: The Literature and Culture of African American Migration
Making a Living, Making a Life: Work and Its Rewards in a Changing America
Not for Children Only: Classic Children's Literature for Adults
One Vision, Many Voices: Latino Literature in the US
Sovereign Worlds: Native Peoples Reclaim Their Lives and Heritage
What America Reads: Myth Making in Popular Fiction

New themes, which explore themes in Jewish literature, include:
A Mind of Her Own: Fathers and Daughters in a Changing World
Between Two Worlds: Stories of Estrangement and Homecoming
Demons, Golems, and Dybbuks: Monsters of the Jewish Imagination
Your Heart's Desire: Sex and Love in Jewish Literature

Other themes created by libraries and state organizations
Libraries and other groups have developed reading and discussion themes - many with a regional focus - to be used with the Let's Talk About It model.

Oklahoma's Let's Talk About It program has developed themes on Vietnam, contemporary Latin American fiction and the Southwest experience.

The Montgomery County (Md.) public libraries created a book and film discussion series based upon various types of mystery fiction.

The Vermont Reading Project offers themes devoted to the literature of other cultures, including Japan, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa.

What people say about Let's Talk About It
"Personally, this program has reinvigorated me. The people were attentive, the discussion was stimulating and the participants well-prepared." - Scholar

"This program taught me a deeper understanding of how the arts and humanities can serve to brighten people's lives and connect them to their community." - Scholar

"I appreciated this opportunity to read and discuss good literature and ideas. Please have more programs like this." - Participant

"People in my group were hungry for an exchange of ideas and the level of interest and enthusiasm was high." - Participant

"This is what I went to college for and never got." - Participant

What libraries who have hosted Let's Talk About It programs say
Read excerpts from testimonial letters from a wide variety of libraries and communities.