Community Collaboration - Zumbrota Reads

In order to assess the expected outcomes of this project, the library chose to administer a survey to audiences who came to the two book discussions. There were a total of 36 respondents to the surveys.
Over 70% of participants had not read the book before, and although the book itself was not rated very highly, the discussions were popular and the likelihood to participate in the next community read was high.
Several of the comments on our surveys talked about how much they enjoyed the discussions surrounding the program.
Select responses to Survey Question, “What did you like best about this program?”
“It was a great community event for people to participate in that encourages reading”
“It was easy to participate”
“The discussion”
“It encouraged me to read a well-known book that I hadn’t read previously”
“I like the movie/speaker aspect. That always adds depth to a book”
“Being able to discuss the book with others”
“Being able to hear everyone’s opinions of the book”
“Listening to other views of people”
“Discussion helped me understand the book & see new views”
“Read a great book that I wouldn’t have otherwise read”
“It was well organized and published”
“Listening to other people’s ideas, comments, criticism, & praise for author & book”
“Everybody reads the same book; something to talk about”