How Books are Selected for Athenaeum
The process by which books are selected is "radically democratic" -- every book that is discussed at Athenaeum has been selected by majority vote. To ensure this outcome, the following guidelines are followed:
Books are selected two months in advance (i.e. the December book is selected at the October meeting).
Nominations for books are solicited from those present. Anyone present at the meeting can nominate up to two books.
After the nominations are recorded, a brief discussion/debate is held allowing folks to promote and comment on the books nominated.
Voting is carried out in two rounds of balloting.
In the first round, each person present is allowed two votes that can be cast among the books that have been nominated. The two books receiving the greatest number of votes are advanced to the second round (a runoff vote is occasionally needed to identify these two books).
In the second round of balloting, each person present has a single vote that must be cast for one of the two books under consideration.
If the vote results in a tie, further discussion/debate is held and another vote is held, until one of the books receives a majority vote.