The FYI Book Club connects Kansas City’s many services, agencies, organizations and institutions with reading. Participants across the metro area gather at venues that have connections with the books, joined by local experts on matters addressed in the books. Authors often participate via Skype. The result is a conversation with a local and personal flavor that raises awareness of issues and challenges facing Kansas City.

FYI Book Club’s use of innovative settings (a mortuary, a police station, city water department offices, a radio station, a lingerie shop) helps readers understand how the reading matter is tied to where they live. By partnering with experts at these venues, conversation about the books is enhanced and participants become more informed community members.

The FYI Book Club has drawn a diverse range of readers from across the Kansas City metro area to discuss issues such as public safety, policing procedures, water quality, racial cleansing and reparations, capital punishment, gay marriage, technology’s influence on analog items, sports injuries, musicianship and art forgeries. The library is fostering civic dialogue on difficult topics, using books and relevant locations to stimulate and deepen conversation.