This paper examines the Kalamazoo Ladies' Library Association during the 25-year period in the last half of the 19th century when the association formed a Reading Circle, held Social Meetings, and finally established a Ladies' Library Club. The Reading Circle met weekly and bi-weekly between 1861-1868; the Social Meetings took place once a month between 1856 and 1861 and again in 1867, while the Ladies' Library Club began in 1873 and met until the 1890s. Each group discussed and studied various topics and literary works and had its own rules and procedures. The Reading Club, for example, allowed male membership and participation. The paper focuses on the structure and topics of the Reading Circle and the Social Meetings and the differences in approach. It examines not only what was studied but also the way gender influenced differences in the reception of and interpretation of literature by men and women in the Reading Circle. It also explores topics discussed in the Social Meeting where some participants felt more freedom to state opinions and extend the discussion of topics over several weeks. Changes in the focus for the study groups between the pre-Civil-War era and the post-Civil-War era are considered in the paper as well. Contains 32 notes and 4 references. (NKA)