I first encountered the term "GalleyChat" on Bluesky when I kept seeing a flurry of interesting bookish posts tagged with #ewgc. When I asked about it, Robin B. aka explained that EarlyWord aka 's GalleyChat is an online event where a group of librarians meet once a month to discuss forthcoming books.
What a wonderful way to discover books! Thanks to Robin for taking the time to answer a few questions for my blog readers.
Q. Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I retired after 41 years in a public library, working in just about every department, but my favorite jobs were being the bookmobile and homebound services librarian, specializing in readers’ advisory. Since I was five years old, my passion has been helping readers find just the right book, and I will take any opportunity to recommend books to anyone, anywhere. About 17 years ago, I started working with publishers, reading books ahead of publication, which led me to work with EarlyWord.com and eventually to help coordinate GalleyChat, doing what I could to keep readers informed about future releases.
Q. What is GalleyChat?
It's a monthly "chat" that started in April 2010 (then on "X" and now on Bluesky), initiated by Nora Rawlinson, so that library staff who attended the 2010 Public Library Conference could talk about the advanced reading galleys they brought home.
Here is the first post from that chat. It has since grown, with librarians and staff participating from across the US, and typically around 100-200 titles are mentioned during that chat. It can get pretty fast and furious!
Q. Is GalleyChat just for librarians, or may book creators participate?
Anyone can participate passively and access the compilation of titles on Edelweiss (it's free to join, so the catalogs can be easily accessed). We request that comments be by librarians and staff about forthcoming books, or by publishers who can provide easy access to their promoted books via Edelweiss or NetGalley.
Q. Any thoughts on the future of GalleyChat?
We would like to see more library staff participation, but we do realize this is becoming more challenging for those who work in library settings due to heavy workloads and limited chat time. It's difficult to get the word out, and we are also challenged by the platform we use, which can be clunky. We have explored other options but so far haven't come up with anything that would work for everyone. The added challenge is that it is coordinated by volunteers with time constraints.
Q. How can people find out more about Galleychat?
The best way is to check out Earlyword.com for monthly postings and the catalogs of past titles. The chats are held on the first Thursday of each month from 4:00-5:00 (ET) on Bluesky, using the hashtag #ewgc. In addition, anyone can email me (galleychat@earlyword.com), and I will add them to my twice-monthly email with reminders and compilation availability.
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