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Amy Awadalla is an integrated marketing specialist at OverDrive. She works primarily on the academic and professional markets for the Libby and Kanopy products. She has spent her career working in digital marketing and social media and continues to pursue her career goals in marketing through the resources provided by OverDrive's talent development department .

Amy Awadalla

Whether a team member is working hybrid, on-site, or from home, building team cohesion is essential for success in the workplace. Finding ways to create a shared experience can be challenging yet rewarding. Hosting a company book club can be a powerful way to build a sense of connection and promote learning and development simultaneously.A Book Club for Learning and DevelopmentA book club can be a powerful L&D tool, creating team growth by building skills, communication styles, and work processes that align with organizational goals—whether it’s adopting Scrum for faster, high-quality work, or learning StoryBrand to clarify brand messaging. This shared learning creates smooth processes for teams to build knowledge they can apply directly to their roles.Employee feedback surveys are an invaluable and sometimes underused tool to guide book club choices and address pain points in the company. If employees report dissatisfaction with meetings, a book on productive gatherings could be valuable. Similarly, a book on emotional intelligence can improve both workplace relationships and client interactions. Tailoring book selections to team needs and goals makes the book club initiative more relevant and effective.Practical Steps for Starting a Book Club in Your OrganizationEach workplace is unique, but consider a few of these vetted steps that can lead to starting a successful book club. You’ll want to tailor them to your employee and cultural needs: Survey employee interests and needs: Before selecting a book, consider conducting a short survey to gauge employees’ interests. This helps to align the book club's content with the topics employees care about most and maximizes engagement.Choose accessible formats: Offering the book in multiple formats—audio, e-book, and print—can ensure it’s accessible to a broader range of employees. A platform and app like Libby is your go-to for multi-format reading.Set a manageable schedule: To ensure the book club doesn’t feel burdensome, set a reading schedule that’s manageable for everyone and is something that special that everyone looks forward to.Create discussion questions: To encourage participation, consider preparing discussion questions that prompt reflection and open dialogue. Cut through information silos across departments: Consider opening the book club to employees across departments. This not only broadens perspectives during discussions but can also break down silos and cross-departmental understanding.Book Clubs as Connection Points in a Flexible, Remote WorldIn a time when remote and hybrid work can make employees feel isolated from their coworkers, a book club offers a simple yet effective way to reconnect. For employees who may not work together daily, it provides a structured opportunity to interact and build rapport. Imagine that employees are reading a follow-up book on their DISC assessment types. In the discussion afterwards, one participant states that their communication style is more direct than another’s preferred way of emailing or speaking. Then others realize the challenge communicating wasn’t what they were saying, but how they might have said it. These interactions can make employees feel more engaged and less isolated, creating a sense of belonging and camaraderie that carries over to other aspects of their work.Building a Stronger, More Cohesive TeamWhether it’s developing new skills, enhancing communication, or simply connecting on a human level, a company book club has the potential to strengthen teams and create a more cohesive work environment. Encourage employees to get involved in book clubs to foster their professional growth, deepen connections with one another, and inspire them to think outside of the box. 

How a Company Book Club Can Enhance Learning, Performance, and Teamwork

In today’s healthcare environment, access to reliable, up-to-date resources is essential for medical professionals who strive to provide the highest quality care. Medical organizations can better support their staff by giving them access to information that is comprehensive, convenient, and cost-effective. Libby, the digital reading app for libraries, offers an ideal solution for healthcare professionals seeking to stay informed, continually educate themselves, and relieve stress through reading. Here’s a closer look at the advantages of integrating Libby into your medical organization and how it positively impacts healthcare professionals.Easy Access to High-Quality ResourcesLibby provides instant access to thousands of e-books, audiobooks, and magazines through your organization. Medical professionals can explore a wide range of digital resources relevant to their fields, from detailed medical texts to articles on healthcare policy, industry innovations, and public health trends. Libby also offers materials on leadership, communication, and other soft skills—all essential in a patient-centered industry. Having this knowledge at their fingertips enables healthcare professionals to make informed decisions, contribute to improved patient outcomes, and reduce the time spent searching for trustworthy resources.Here are a few examples of book titles available right now for medical professionals with access to Libby:Seamless Integration With Busy SchedulesMedical professionals often work long and irregular hours. With Libby, they can easily download materials to read offline or stream audiobooks during their commute or between shifts. The app’s cross-device compatibility lets users start a book on one device and pick up right where they left off on another, offering flexibility for on-the-go learning. This level of convenience makes it much easier for staff to continue their education while balancing demanding schedules.Flexible Educational ResourceWith Libby, our approach emphasizes the flexible allocation of your budget to ensure you keep your collection current and responsive to the changes in the medical field. With options tailored to your unique needs, you can decide how to best utilize funds—whether that’s prioritizing high-demand titles or exploring newly released content.Enhancing Team Knowledge and CollaborationWhen your medical staff all have access to the same resources, it promotes a culture of shared knowledge and collaboration. Organizations can use Libby to recommend certain titles or resources to teams, sparking discussions on best practices, ethics, or innovative medical techniques. These shared learning experiences encourage teamwork and can lead to stronger, more cohesive care teams. For example, Libby’s digital book clubs using Libby to host a digital book club offers an innovative way for departments to stay connected, discuss professional development books, or even bond over popular fiction.Continuous Professional DevelopmentThe medical field requires ongoing education to stay aware of advancements in medicine and technology. With Libby, professionals can access resources on topics such as medical research, technology trends, and clinical guidelines, enabling them to fulfill continuing education (CE) requirements or simply stay updated on the latest developments in their specialty. Additionally, many libraries offer digital magazine subscriptions to journals that cover medical fields and emerging research, allowing healthcare professionals to advance their knowledge at no additional cost.For medical organizations looking to make a positive impact on both patient care and professional development, visit our website and learn more about Libby for your organization. 

The Benefits of Using Libby in Medical Organizations

Think about your favorite band or artist. They find their rhythm with each other by ensuring they are “N*SYNC” with one another both musically and socially. Employees are the same way.Creating a culture of continuous learning and collaboration is essential for any organization, but it’s not always easy for teams to make the time or prioritize these skills. One innovative way to engage your team and drive discussions around key organizational topics is through book clubs. While book clubs are often associated with personal reading, they can be a powerful tool in a workplace setting, encouraging team members to develop skills and understand topics aligned with your organization’s goals.Promoting Continuous Learning and Professional DevelopmentA book club can serve as an engaging ongoing professional development opportunity. By selecting books that align with your organization’s objectives, your team stays informed about the latest developments in your field but also furthers a collective culture of lifelong learning.The most important part of any book club is the analysis and discussion that happens once the book is read. Through group discussions, team members can apply what they’ve learned to real-world situations, enhancing their ability to contribute to the organization's success. Now you’ve got an excited and engaged workforce that has a collective vocabulary and set of short-hand phrases to convey complex ideas! Here are a few examples of professional development titles offered on Libby.Encouraging Open Dialogue and Diverse PerspectivesBook clubs create a welcoming space where employees can freely share their thoughts and engage in deep conversations on complex topics. Whether exploring themes like diversity and inclusion, change management, or innovation, these discussions promote cross-departmental communication and help break down organizational silos. In an informal setting, book clubs allow employees to connect on a personal level, strengthening relationships and creating a more cohesive workplace. Leveraging existing employee resource groups (ERGs) is an excellent way to launch a book club, seamlessly integrating it into your organization’s culture.Here are a few examples of titles centered around diversity and inclusion in Libby.Aligning Team Efforts With Organizational GoalsBook clubs can be strategically used to align your team’s efforts with the broader goals of your organization. By carefully selecting books that reflect the company's mission, vision, and values, you can reinforce key messages and inspire employees to think critically about how they contribute to the organization's success.For example, if your organization is undergoing a digital workflow transformation, reading and discussing books on technology trends like artificial intelligence can help your team understand the challenges and opportunities ahead.Driving engagement with learning and development isn’t always the easiest sell for an organization, but a book club can help activate employees more, engender passionate advocates for the process, and even develop champions for learning. To learn more about book clubs and how they work at OverDrive, visit our website to inspire your organization’s next book club.

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