HOW THE OpenBook PROGRAM OPERATES

Humanities Montana solicits sponsors for the OpenBook program from libraries and readers' groups across the state. We provide local sponsoring organizations with multiple copies of books and pay discussion leaders to visit the community and lead discussions on the texts. Sponsors decide which books they wish to discuss, determine when they want to hold their programs and select discussion leaders from the OpenBook Catalog of Discussion Leaders, in consultation with Humanities Montana staff. Sponsoring organizations or Humanities Montana staff will contact Discussion Leaders directly to confirm dates and times of programs before Humanities Montana grants an OpenBook award. Once the sponsor’s application has been received and approved, we send you a packet containing a copy of that award letter, a Study Guide about your book (if available), and a form for reporting expenses and evaluation. An honorarium check is mailed separately to you prior to your program.

Please provide the sponsoring organization with a brief biographical sketch of yourself and a photograph (digital is preferred) for use in publicity and promotion.

One week before your program, the project director for your program should call you and confirm any final details. If the project director fails to call you, please call her\him to confirm your engagement. We urge you to consult with the project director for advice about the audience and the series. Ask the project director if participants have been given copies of the study guides for the book. Some project directors do not give participants the study guides and this could affect the discussion.

One half hour before your program, meet with the project director and explain how you intend to lead the discussion. Each discussion leader will have a different format for the program and the project director should be alerted as to what to expect. You may want to review any discussion questions you intend to focus on with her\him.

THE DISCUSSION LEADER’S ROLE

Your role as a discussion leader is two-fold: (1) to provide a critical perspective on the materials considered and (2) to inspire participants to relate their experiences and insights to the materials and share their responses with the discussion group. At times, these two purposes may seem to conflict with one another: you must establish the vital intellectual groundwork for the discussion, yet you also must be careful not to allow your perspective to dominate the opinions of the participants.

The project director will introduce you at the beginning of the program. Please thank Humanities Montana for underwriting the cost of your presentation. Open the discussion with a presentation about the text. Successful presentations usually have three components: biographical information on the author, a historical context for the reading, and a critical interpretation of the text.

Some of the books have Study Guides. They contain much information you will need for this presentation; however, don’t feel you must limit yourself to the information in the Study Guides.

Some OpenBook programs present a series based on a theme. Where your program falls within the series could greatly influence the content of your presentation. For example, if yours is the first program, your presentation could contain a “keynote” for the programs that follow. If it is the last, you may want to give a perspective that effectively summarizes the series theme.

After your presentation, open the discussion with some prepared questions. Allow plenty of time for participant involvement. If your group is excessively large, you may want to break it into smaller groups. After 30 to 40 minutes, reconvene the small groups and ask for a summary of what the groups discussed. Entertain any closing questions, requests for other titles on related subjects, and the like. (We have often found that folks are reluctant to stop talking about the evening's topic.)

Programs should run 90 minutes to 2 hours; use your judgment to determine when to close the program. The project director will officially close the program by thanking the participants and making any pertinent announcements.

Please fill out the expense reimbursement and evaluation form and return this to Humanities Montana. Evaluation is a necessary part of all programs.

Thanks again for your willingness to share your expertise with the public. If you have any questions, please call us.