












































Book Talks


112  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

Book Talks
Promoting the Library and Creating 
Community
Suzanne Estelle-Holmer, Lecturer in Bibliographic Instruction, Associate Di-
rector for Collections, Research and Access, Yale University
Amy Limpitlaw, Head Librarian, Boston University
Michelle Spomer, Library Director, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

ABSTRACT Book talks, however defined, have been programming staples 
in all types of libraries. In theological libraries, they tend to be focused on 
faculty authors, or perhaps members of the institutional community. The 
COVID-19 pandemic, of course, has thrown a wrench into how or if book 
talks are offered and has changed how these events are developed and 
implemented. In this session, three library directors discussed what book 
talks look like in their libraries and offered practical suggestions for building 
similar programming. This included discussion of how book talks contrib-
ute to institutional missions and goals, and how they demonstrate value.

INTRODUCTION

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer (Yale University), Amy Limpitlaw (Boston 
University), and Michelle Spomer (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) 
work at different theological schools. They discovered that each of 
their libraries were including some sort of book talks (hosting an au-
thor who speaks about their research and/or publications) in their 
library programming. While there are many similarities between the 
three programs, there are also quite a few differences in how each 
library plans for and implements these events. 

It is the belief of all three presenters that almost any library can 
develop and implement book talks in some form. Whatever the li-
brary budget, staff size, or space available, there is likely some com-
bination of time and resources that would be conducive for a book 
talk — or several! Statistics for each of the presenters’ institutions 
might help you envision your own book talks:



PANEL PRESENTATIONS  113

Yale Divinity School
• FTE: 274
• Number of Faculty: 43
• Number of Library Staff: 10
• Degrees Offered: MDiv, MAR, STM

Boston University School of Theology
• FTE: 314
• Number of Faculty: 31
• Number of Library Staff: 5
• Degrees Offered: MDiv, MTS, MSM, MARPL, STM, DMin, PhD

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• FTE: 185
• Number of Faculty: 16
• Number of Library Staff: 6
• Degrees Offered: MDiv, MAPS, MTS, DMin

Each presenter took turns answering seven questions about the 
book talks at their institutions:

1. When and why did you start having book talks? Do you col-
laborate with anyone?

2. Who is the audience at your book talks? Who are the speak-
ers and what do they write?

3. How do you promote book talks? Do attendees need to reg-
ister?

4. Are your book talks in-person, online, or both? If in-per-
son, what space(s) do you use? What kind of setup is there 
(chairs, refreshments, technology)? If online/hybrid, are 
they recorded and posted somewhere?

5. What is the format of your book talks?
6. Are there ways that you link library resources to your book 

talks?
7. What tips do you have for those who want to start having 

book talks?
Following the summary of panelist responses are a book talk 

planning worksheet (Appendix 1) as well as a list of online resources 
(Appendix 2).



114  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

QUESTION 1: WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START HAVING BOOK TALKS? 
DO YOU COLLABORATE WITH ANYONE?

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer
I must admit from the outset that I am the novice on the panel, hav-
ing organized only one book talk. However, this one event was tre-
mendously successful with over fifty participants, so I learned a great 
deal from the experience. One reason for the lack of library book 
talks is that Yale Divinity School (YDS) is a very book-rich environ-
ment, with an annual all-school read, a faculty book party, and other 
book-related events. It was difficult for library to get a foot inside the 
door, until we discovered that our alumni are an untapped group of 
talented authors. YDS has incredible alumni who go on to write books 
in many different spheres of knowledge and influence. Before the CO-
VID-19 pandemic, alumni visiting the library would often approach 
me, asking if they could give a book talk in our iconic Day Missions 
Room. I began planning an alumni book talk series in 2019, which 
never got off the ground because of the lockdown. In the Fall of 2022 
things began to open up and we held our first book talk during the 
annual alumni convocation. I worked closely with the YDS Alumni 
Relations Office, which embraced the idea as a way to build stronger 
relationships between alumni and current students. We look forward 
to future collaboration with an alumni book series in the fall of 2023.

Amy Limpitlaw
To answer this question for the BU Theology Library, first I need to 
clarify that unlike Suzanne and Michelle, the events we hold at our 
library aren’t technically “book talks” — although the initial idea 
came from the idea of having book groups. What emerged for us was 
a series of events focused on a faculty member’s (or other commu-
nity member’s) research, with a specific focus for the conversation 
on either an article or a chapter from a book.  

In 2014, my staff and I were trying to think of some kind of events 
we could offer for Theological Libraries month in October. One of 
our staff, Stacey Duran, who is our Instruction and Collection Devel-
opment Librarian, came up with the idea of having something like 
a book group meeting, where people have the opportunity to read 
something and discuss it. We first discussed the idea of an entire book. 
However, we decided that few people would have the time to read 
an entire book. Then we decided that we would select and provide a 



PANEL PRESENTATIONS  115

single chapter or article, which would be the focus for the discussion. 
And though originally we thought about doing one of these each week 
in October that year, that seemed like a little bit too much work and 
not likely to get much attendance, so we opted for a monthly format.  
We offered these events intermittently over the years. (Probably we 
were most consistent in the first few years.)  Initially, we only had 
faculty authors, but we expanded the talks to include other mem-
bers of the community including some of our doctoral students. The 
name of these events also changed over the years: first we called these 
“Faculty-Author Roundtable Discussions” then after we broadened 
them to include not only faculty authors but other members of the 
community, we titled them “STH Library Talk Series.” During the first 
year of COVID-19 we stopped hosting these events. When we resumed 
holding them in the Spring of 2022, we renamed the series “Library 
Conversations: Research and Scholarship at the School of Theology.”

Michelle Spomer
Though the format was quite different, book talks existed at Pitts-
burgh Theological Seminary (PTS) before I arrived as library director 
in 2016. From what I understand, these consisted of a group of faculty 
giving very brief (ten minutes or so) talks about their most recently 
published books during the PTS Alumnae/i Days annual event. The 
faculty would speak one after the other, and then attendees could 
purchase the books and get them signed. 

Due to the renovation of Barbour Library, we didn’t have any book 
talks until 2019. My reasons for having book talks were manifold: (1) 
the library and library staff were a bit siloed from the rest of campus, 
so book talks would be a way to connect with the PTS community; (2) 
I wanted to demonstrate that the library wasn’t just a collection in a 
beautiful, renovated building, but also that it also had a strong library 
program; and (3) I wanted to connect our library users with the collec-
tion in a different way. Another reason to have book talks manifested 
after our first book talk in February of 2019: it turned out to be a great 
way to collaborate with another department (the writing center). 

Dr. Shan Overton (Director of the Center for Writing and Learn-
ing Support) and I began to meet to discuss how we could “combine 
forces” and develop book talks into something a bit more than faculty 
lectures outside of the classroom. Dr. Overton brought her writing 
expertise, author connections, and interview skills to the table, and 
the library provided space and connections to library resources.



116  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

QUESTION 2:  WHO IS THE AUDIENCE AT YOUR BOOK TALKS? WHO ARE 
THE SPEAKERS AND WHAT DO THEY WRITE?

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer
The audience has primarily been alumni, students, and staff. Our first 
author was Dr. Alisha Lola Jones, a professor of Musicology at the 
University of Cambridge (UK), specializing in Black Gospel and Pente-
costal musical performance. My next author will be a YDS alum, origi-
nally from Poland and now a UCC pastor in Massachusetts. His first 
major book is a study of the Reformed Church in Poland, published 
by Brill. I am also recruiting authors who have written about clergy 
experiences with mental health, and issues of practical ministry. Ide-
ally, I would like to host a book talk series that represents a variety 
of topics and distinct kinds of writing — both academic and popular.

Amy Limpitlaw
The audience is any member of the seminary community: faculty, 
staff, students.  The speakers — or rather, conversation partners — 
are usually faculty members, but they can be anyone in the commu-
nity who has written something interesting, regardless of whether 
they are a faculty member, a staff member, or a student.

Michelle Spomer
The audience for our book talks is pretty much anyone who regis-
ters, whether they are faculty, staff, students, alums, seminary com-
munity members, board members, local clergy, or members of the 
general public.

We have three book talk series: (1) the Faculty Series; (2) the PTS 
Community Series (this includes PTS staff and anyone related to the 
seminary, such as alums); and (3) the Guest Speaker Series (authors 
outside the PTS community). Examples for each category include:

• Faculty Series: Dr. Kimberly Russaw, Revisiting Rahab: An-
other Look at the Woman of Jericho

• PTS Community Series: Christina Kukuk (alum), Loving 
What Doesn’t Last: An Adorations of the Body

• Guest Speaker Series: Andrew Nagy-Benson and Andrea 
Lloyd, Letters from the Ecotone: Ecology, Theology, and Cli-
mate Change



PANEL PRESENTATIONS  117

QUESTION 3:  HOW DO YOU PROMOTE BOOK TALKS? DO ATTENDEES 
NEED TO REGISTER?

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer
Promotion of our book talks is primarily through email and other 
alumni-oriented announcements. Last year we enrolled in Yale’s Yale-
Connect, a platform for campus and student organizations. We have 
experimented using it as our major vehicle for promoting library activ-
ities and services. Although we ask students to register for programs, 
it is not mandatory, and there is no guarantee that they will attend. I 
also recommend using social media, especially for alumni book talks.

Amy Limpitlaw
One of my staff members creates a flyer for the event which we put 
on our library’s web site, both on a page for the event but also on a 
revolving banner we have on our homepage called “Library High-
lights.” The banner links to a page for the event.  We also advertise 
it on our social media feeds: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.  We put 
the event on the school’s calendar so that it automatically gets put 
on the school’s web site.  We also submit the flyer to be put on LCD 
screens that are located in various corridors of the school, and it 
also gets announced in a weekly email sent to the community called 
“Collegium.” Initially, we did try putting up paper flyers around the 
school, but once they implemented the LCD screens, that seemed re-
dundant so we stopped doing that.  However, there is a weekly free 
lunch on Wednesdays for the community, and we usually do print 
out some of the flyers and put them on the tables.  Finally, since I’m 
always nervous that we’re not going to get many attendees, I usu-
ally send an email to the community the day before reminding them 
of the event. We used to have people register, but more recently we 
stopped doing that.

Michelle Spomer
We promote book talks using several different methods and plat-
forms: emails to the PTS community, social media, the library web-
site, the PTS calendar on the seminary website, campus LED screens, 
and library signage.

Currently, book talk attendees need to register so that we can plan 
for refreshments if it’s an in-person event, and also to send Zoom 
links to online attendees. (Some book talks are only online, and the 



118  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

in-person books talks are live-streamed to online attendees.) I am 
planning to reconsider required registration. We may get more at-
tendees if it weren’t required.

QUESTION 4:  ARE YOUR BOOK TALKS IN-PERSON, ONLINE, OR BOTH? 
IF IN-PERSON, WHAT SPACE(S) DO YOU USE? WHAT KIND OF SETUP IS 
THERE (CHAIRS, REFRESHMENTS, TECHNOLOGY)? IF ONLINE/HYBRID, 
ARE THEY RECORDED AND POSTED SOMEWHERE? 

Suzane Estelle-Holmer
Yale’s book talks are in-person. We had hoped to use space in the li-
brary, but the number of attendees necessitated that we move to a 
larger venue. The talk was moved to a nearby university conference 
center where there was auditorium seating and a full range of AV 
equipment. There are many requests to use the Day Missions Room 
for book talks. This space is a reading room reminiscent of a gentle-
man’s library of the nineteenth century. Audio-visual equipment 
needs to be moved in along with additional seating. But it can be 
done! It does involve several hours of set-up time and custodial help. 
The first Divinity Library book talk was recorded and is archived in 
the library’s AV library and on YDS’ YouTube channel.  

Amy Limpitlaw
They are in person. We did try doing it via Zoom in the Spring of 2022 
when the school was operating in a hybrid mode, with classes being 
held both in-person and on Zoom. During that year, there were very 
few people on campus, but our library was open.  We held that event 
with our new Dean as the guest. But now that the school is fully open as 
it was before the pandemic, we hold these events on-site in our library 
conference room.  Scheduling is tricky, because we want to schedule 
them for a time when we’ll get the most attendees, and nearly all times 
during the week there are classes scheduled, except Fridays — but then, 
because there are few classes on Fridays, few people actually come 
onto campus that day. This past year, we decided to hold them once a 
month immediately after the community lunch on Wednesdays, which 
is the same time we offer our instruction sessions. So, one Wednesday a 
month is always reserved for the Library Conversations event. And we 
try to make it even more enticing by providing refreshments. The com-
munications department at the school sends someone to make a record-



PANEL PRESENTATIONS  119

ing, though it is not the whole event, just highlights which are posted 
both on our library’s web page, on the school’s web page, and on the 
school’s YouTube site. These are usually about three to five minutes long.

Michelle Spomer
We’ve been having one book talk per month but are scaling back a 
bit since there tends to be several other PTS events and activities that 
compete for attendees. We generally have our book talks on Fridays, 
from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Classes meet Tuesday through Thursday, so we 
figured that this would be a relatively free time for folks, and early 
enough to still have the evening to do other things. This day and time 
also worked best with Dr. Overton’s and library staff schedules. Of 
course, the downside of this is that for in-person book talks, many 
people just want to get home, and don’t hang around for a book talk. 

As mentioned previously, our book talks are either only online 
or hybrid (i.e., in-person and live-streamed). As you might imagine, 
online-only book talks served us well during the pandemic lockdown. 
When the campus reopened, we started having in-person book talks 
again, with the addition of live-streaming. Online-only book talks can 
be great for authors who live somewhere else and can’t do the book 
talks in person. Our in-person book talks are great for those who like 
socializing, especially socializing with refreshments!

For our in-person book talks, we use a lounge on the main level 
that is close to the library entrance. We rearrange the lounge furni-
ture and add folding chairs, and otherwise make it conducive for a 
book talk. This space affords us the ability to expand the number of 
folding chairs into the lobby area. We also have one or two tables 
for refreshments, which usually include sweet and savory appetiz-
er plates ordered from a local grocery store, as well as a variety of 
drinks (including wine!). One of the Information Technology (IT) staff 
brings a video setup so that the book talk can be both live-streamed 
and recorded. He also monitors the Zoom chat and Q&A sections for 
us. The recording is posted on the book talk page in the PTS website 
within a day or two (see the link in the Online Resources section). It 
is also posted on the PTS YouTube channel.

For our online-only book talks, we coordinate with IT staff to pro-
vide the Zoom link for registrants. The author, as well as Dr. Overton 
and library staff, receive special host links that are set up by IT staff. 
Online-only book talks are also recorded and posted.



120  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

QUESTION 5:  WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF YOUR BOOK TALKS?

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer
So far, we do not have a fixed format. Two of the authors requested 
a conversation partner, in both cases a faculty member who was fa-
miliar with the book. This type of format is often more interesting to 
the audience than a purely lecture-style talk. However, this does lend 
an additional layer of complexity to the programming, as getting two 
people together at one time can be challenging. With our initial book 
talk, the professor was unavailable, so the author discussed the book 
on her own. Dr. Jones is a talented presenter and used film clips and 
other images to illustrate the issues she was examining in her work. Go-
ing forward, I want to arrange conversation partners for our authors.

Amy Limpitlaw
I serve as the host for the event, and in preparation I make sure first, 
to have some background information about the author – if it’s a 
faculty member, who they are, what their title is, etc.  I make sure to 
read the chapter or article and have questions prepared to get the 
conversation going.  And I always start with the same question: tell us 
about your intellectual journey, how did you get interested in what-
ever the topic is?  Although we provide the reading (again, a chapter 
from a book or an article) in advance, I don’t assume that everyone 
attending has read it, so I try to provide a short summary.  And then 
I move on to more specific questions related to the reading.  I also al-
ways try to ask a question about the library, either, something along 
the lines of how has the library or the resources we provide helped 
you in your research and/or what can the library do to support your 
scholarship. The discussion is scheduled to last an hour, so after 
maybe 30 minutes of back and forth between the author and me, I 
open it up to the rest of the attendees for questions and comments.

Michelle Spomer
We essentially have four possible formats for our book talks: (1) in-
person, lecture style; (2) in-person, conversation style; (3) online, lec-
ture style; and (4) online, conversation style. “Lecture style” means 
that the author talks about their book for most of the time and allows 
time at the end for questions. These types of book talks are not as 
commonly done as conversation-style book talks and have been done 



PANEL PRESENTATIONS  121

almost exclusively by PTS faculty. Our preferred format is conversa-
tion style, which means that Dr. Overton reads the book, and then 
has a conversation with author about it. We believe that students in 
particular like this format because it gives them the chance to ex-
perience their professors differently than they do in the classroom. 
Another wonderful thing about this format is that Dr. Overton asks 
the authors about their writing processes, so it’s really a perfect col-
laboration between the writing center and the library.

QUESTION 6:  ARE THERE WAYS THAT YOU LINK LIBRARY RESOURCES 
TO YOUR BOOK TALKS?

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer
We have an area at the entrance to the library where we display the 
book under discussion. We could also display related titles but have 
not done this yet. Going forward I hope to develop this more.  

Amy Limpitlaw
Yes, we provide either a scan or a link to the article or book chapter 
being discussed. And I try to always ask the guest how the library and 
its resources have contributed to their scholarly work.

Michelle Spomer
Since one of the reasons we have book talks is to connect people with 
library resources, we developed a couple of ways to do this. The newly 
renovated library has several shelving endcaps throughout the col-
lection that have book displays in them. We use one or more of these 
to display the book for the book talk and also add related books from 
the collection. The books in the displays can be checked out, and there 
are also bibliography handouts that library users can take with them. 

Another way we connect book talk attendees to library resources 
is through our LibGuides. We are able to expand the number and 
types of resources by using these. Not only are physical books related 
to the book talk listed (with links into the catalog), but also journal 
articles and Internet resources. We feel that in addition to provid-
ing resources for book talk attendees, these guides also demonstrate 
the value of the library staff. See the link to our guides in the Online 
Resources section at the end.



122  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

QUESTION 7:  WHAT TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO 
START HAVING BOOK TALKS?

Suzanne Estelle-Holmer
• Start small and do not make the programming overly com-

plex. It can be difficult to communicate and coordinate with 
authors, especially if they are not a part of the school com-
munity. 

• Take the time to talk with the author to describe the audi-
ence and the time allotted for the talk. 

• In planning a series of book talks try to have a variety of 
books and authors to appeal to a wide audience. 

• Do not hesitate to collaborate with other offices or units on 
campus. They may be able to offer AV services or refresh-
ments for an event that serves their mission and constitu-
encies.

Amy Limpitlaw
• Prepare – make sure you have good questions to ask that 

will get the conversation flowing, and make sure you’ve 
read the reading. But also, don’t assume that members of 
your audience have actually read the reading. When I start 
asking about it, I try to kind of summarize the chapter/arti-
cle a bit and link it to the author’s larger research.

• I try to focus on inviting newer faculty or doctoral students.
• For in-person events, refreshments are helpful to draw 

people in.
• Make it easy for the author. Since I always begin with the 

same question — about their intellectual journey — I let 
them know that this is what we’ll start with. At the same 
time, I try to make these events easy for them. When I make 
the invitation, I stress that they don’t need to prepare any-
thing.  I also tell them that it is fine to invite their students.

Michelle Spomer
• Connect book talk programming with your institutional 

mission, strategic plan, and/or your library mission. This 
will show administrators that you are deliberate in support-
ing the goals of the institution, and it may come in handy if 
you need to ask for funding.



PANEL PRESENTATIONS  123

• On a related note, be sure to assess your book talks in some 
way. Simply recording the number of attendees is a very 
basic and easy type of assessment. We have been recording 
this statistic for each of our book talks, including our online 
ones. However, we think a more substantial type of assess-
ment needs to be implemented. We will likely develop some 
sort of evaluation form that we ask attendees to fill out 
when the book talk is over (much like the ones that are used 
for instruction evaluation).

• Mainly for promotional purposes, plan book talks months 
in advance, if possible. Our communications staff generally 
want the full slate of book talks a few months before the 
first one happens.

• Be sure to take photos of your event. These can be used in 
planning more book talks and can also be added to the li-
brary and/or institutional website.

• Take some time to evaluate each book talk. You might want 
to develop an evaluation form that lists the details of the 
book talk (including refreshment quantities and cost), and 
what worked and didn’t work.

APPENDIX 1: BOOK TALK PLANNING WORKSHEET

Why have a book talk? How does this advance the library’s and in-
stitution’s mission?

Is there an opportunity for collaboration?

Who is the audience? What kind of authors/speakers will be sought?

How will the book talk be advertised/promoted? Will attendees need 
to register?

Will the book talk be in person, online, or both? If online, will it be 
recorded and posted? If in person, what will the setup be?

What will be the book talk format?

How will library resources be linked to the book talk?

How will the book talk be assessed? 



124  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

APPENDIX 2: ONLINE RESOURCES

Boston University School of Theology 
• Trading Futures: Dr. Filipe Maia’s Research and Latest Pub-

lication 
https://youtu.be/HYL8V2gQmBk

• Spiritual Seeking: Research and Vocational Discernment of 
Nicolette Manglos-Weber 
https://youtu.be/cC3wwDLyOBE

• Library Conversations: Research and Scholarship 
https://www.bu.edu/sthlibrary/engage/sthlectureseries/

Yale Divinity School
• YDS Library Book Talk with Dr. Alisha Lola Jones ’07 M.Div. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBlYP1SR7zE 
• YDS Audio-Visual Collections 

https://yaledivinitylibrary.aviaryplatform.com/ 

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• Book Talk LibGuides 

https://guides.pts.edu/sb.php?subject_id=200520

• Seminary Hosts BookTalk Series 
https://www.pts.edu/BookTalks

• PTS YouTube Page 
https://www.youtube.com/@pghseminary/videos

https://youtu.be/HYL8V2gQmBk
https://youtu.be/cC3wwDLyOBE
https://www.bu.edu/sthlibrary/engage/sthlectureseries/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBlYP1SR7zE
https://yaledivinitylibrary.aviaryplatform.com/
https://guides.pts.edu/sb.php?subject_id=200520
https://www.pts.edu/BookTalks
https://www.youtube.com/@pghseminary/videos

