Creating social connections has long been a staple of Family and Consumer Sciences Extension programming.  During the global pandemic, maintaining connectedness while adhering to isolation and social distancing protocols, became a challenge necessary to overcome.  The Big Blue Book Club was established as an outreach effort to build engagement through learning and relationship building in a safe format.  The virtual club includes participants statewide and continues to serve as a medium for cultivating relationships across the Bluegrass.  Featured books (provided by UK FCS Extension, local extension offices and local libraries) are distributed through county extension offices to enhance the local connection and generate new extension users. While the initial book clubs were only offered in a virtual format, as pandemic protocols have relaxed, many county offices have invited participants to engage with the group through “watch parties” hosted at Extension facilities.  Book club participants are encouraged to extend the conversations generated during sessions through the Blue Book Club Facebook group and recordings of sessions are uploaded to our YouTube FCS Learning Channel with a dedicated book club playlist.

During FY 2022, the Big Blue Book Club offered two book sessions with more than 600 books distributed.

Just a Few Miles South by renowned Kentucky Chef Ouita Michel, along with Sara Gibbs and Genie Graf was the first featured book of FY22. In this unique book, the stories presented beyond the recipes, paint a comprehensive picture of Kentucky’s diverse food culture with an intentional focus on eating seasonally and locally.  374 people from across the state registered for participation in the virtual book club. Participants joined weekly Zoom session for three weeks to discuss the diversity, history, and culture of Kentucky food as shared throughout the book.  Participants utilized the Big Blue Book Club Facebook group and YouTube channel to enrich further conversation and connection.  At the final session, Chef Michel, joined in the discussion with participants.    

238 new Big Blue Book Club participants and 136 returning participants, speaks to the success of this endeavor.  As participants learned together, they formed relationships and connections with people that they might never have an opportunity to meet in person.  Through breakout groups and large group discussions, they explored Kentucky’s robust food culture, while members also shared about the food heritage of their own families.

The second book offered during FY 2022, The Less People Know About Us by Axton Betz-Hamilton, is a memoir of personal identity theft, highlighting the importance of protecting your personal and financial information.  Once again, over the course of three weeks participants learned about the perils of identity theft and ways to prevent and/or mitigate its effects.  With 545 registered participants (312 who were new to Book Club) the engagement continued to grow.  For this session, the moderators utilized a digital polling and response tool to enhance the experience for all users.  Because of the sensitive nature of the discussions, many participants commented on their comfort with using the online tool to maintain anonymity while sharing their own experiences.  At the final session, the author, Dr. Axton Betz-Hamilton joined the group to share final insights into her book as well as the issues surrounding identity theft.  

The success of Big Blue Book Club is evident through number of repeat and new users who have engaged with the group over the course of the last two years.  While we actively select books that will be engaging, we are true to our primary mission of education on issues pertinent to family and community life. So while encouraging adult literacy skills, we are intentional in selecting books that support our goal of disseminating research-based information in a way that is relatable and encourages deep thinking.