How Do Libraries Use It?

A group can be created by any Goodreads member. Creating a group is quick and easy. Groups can be public, restricted, private or secret. The privacy settings of the group can be changed at any time.

• Public - anyone can join the group, view the group information and discussion board
• Restricted - new members must have an email in one of the listed domains provided by the moderator. The group information is available to everyone but only members can view the discussion board. 
• Private - Only moderators can invite new members. The polls and discussion boards can only be viewed by members.
• Secret - Only moderators can invite new members. The group will not appear in search results and only members can see group information, polls and discussion boards.

The group are moderated and moderators can be added or removed at any time. The moderator can also block any troublesome users. Goodreads groups are designed to facilitate virtual books clubs but there are other features libraries can use if the virtual book club is not the goal. For example, the library can promote its collections through the bookshelf feature.

Here are questions to consider before creating a Goodreads group:

• Who will maintain the group?
• How much time will staff devote to the group?
• How will the group be promoted?
• What is the targeted audience? (i.e. public library - adults or teenagers)
• Are there any privacy issues?
• What is the purpose of the group? (i.e. virtual book club or collection promotion)