Councils and Regional Contacts (by state)

The Great Books Foundation maintains the largest book-group registry in the United States. Many of these groups are affiliated with a city or regional Great Books council.

Great Books councils are independent volunteer organizations that support Great Books groups in a particular area. Currently there are ten councils serving book groups in the United States and Canada:

 Chicago Area Great Books Council
 Great Books Council of Delaware
 Houston Great Books Council
 Long Island Great Books Council
 New England Great Books Council
 Pacific Northwest Great Books Council
 Philadelphia Great Books Council
 San Francisco Great Books Council (serving Northern California)
 Tampa Bay Great Books Council
 Westchester (NY) Great Books Council

The councils provide support by:

• Publishing newsletters and maintaining websites with information about local groups and events
• Periodically hosting leader training in Shared Inquiry™.
• Organizing  retreats and other special events that feature book discussions (for example, the Wachs Summer Institute)

Please call us at 800-222-5870 if you would like to correct or add a name to the list below, which includes not only councils but also other regional contacts. Please feel free to contact the Great Books Foundation or any of these individuals or organizations for information about starting or joining a local group or council. For more information on council programming, visit www.greatbooksdiscussionprograms.org.

Wachs Great Books Summer Institute at Colby College

The Colby Committee sponsors the Wachs Great Books Summer Institute each August at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. For information, please contact:

Thomas and Carol Beam
Great Books Summer Institute at Colby College
824 Thomas Road
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444
phone 215-836-2380
agreatbook(at)aol.com