The Lincoln Discussion Group

Abraham Lincoln and You

Book discussion groups generally have their own personalities, culture, and approach to the works they discuss, depending on the length of time they have existed, the personalities of the participants, and the venues in which they take place. The following paragraphs outline one approach. We recommend that you adapt the suggestions in this guide to your own circumstances.

The Lincoln Discussion Group

Focusing on a single subject rather than ranging widely poses different challenges for a discussion group, allowing for opportunities to delve deeply into how different writers have viewed the same individual.

Abraham Lincoln provides an interesting subject for a discussion group. From the time of his emergence onto the national stage, until the present, when writers have written about Lincoln, they have written about core questions of American identity, American history, and American values.

The Size of Your Group

Discussion groups can range in size from 12 to 70. The former generally results in a good discussion if most of the people participate, the latter if most of the people don't. However, one should gauge one's registration efforts to the size of the venue.

In any of group, you want to make it clear to people that while attendees are not required to participate in the discussions-you don't want to scare shy people away-you would prefer that they do so. This, and the fact that group members will be focusing on a single subject for one or more sessions, helps build an atmosphere that encourages participation.

Who Should Lead the Group

In a library, a librarian is the first, but not always the best, choice. In some cases, the librarian may not be available or would not feel qualified to lead a group. A local college or university scholar may be a good choice. A high school teacher might also be a good choice in the case of Lincoln, because Lincoln is so often studied in American high schools. Another approach might be to have a rotating leader, in which a group member is asked to prepare questions for discussion for each booklet or selection to be discussed. One thing is certain: The choice of the group leader will have a major impact on the type of discussions you will have. An expert in the topic will only be a good leader if he or she elicits comments from the participants, not if the discussion devolves into a lecture or a meeting dominated by a single person.

The best approach may be to have either a librarian or a local scholar lead the group. The leader should come prepared with a list of six to twenty questions about the booklet's topic and the selections (for Lincoln, many questions are already provided for you in your Lincoln in American Memory readers, and are also available at Lincoln.loa.org). Some will be broad and others keyed to specific topics.

Having academic scholars may indeed be appropriate for your discussions. In fact, graduate students or retired university faculty might make an attractive alternative if librarians are either unavailable or do not feel comfortable or qualified to lead such a focused discussion.

If you do not have an ongoing relationship with a local university history department, it can sometimes seem daunting to establish one. A good first step is to call the history department at the local college or university and ask if there is a professor who teaches about the Civil War era or, if not, American history survey courses, and then speak to that person. If that person is not available to work with you, it is a good idea to ask her or him for suggestions. These may lead you to good graduate students or high school teachers in your area who are enthusiastic about Lincoln and his legacy. One should be aware, however, that enthusiasm, though it is important, may lead discussion leaders into dominating a discussion. A good book discussion leader draws comments from participants by using key points at key moments of intervention, not by lecturing. When seeking a discussion leader among scholars, this should be made clear.

A third approach to group leadership is to have a different member of the group lead each discussion. It is important to ask each person to prepare discussion questions in advance. She or he can then either distribute them at the beginning of the session or use them as a discussion guide.

An important element in organizing any book discussion is to make sure that the participants stick to the discussion of the book and don't wander into the sharing of personal experience. Prepared questions can help avoid this situation.