Reader Development in Practice: bringing literature to readers
April 26, 2010
This collection of essays by a wide variety of professionals brings a fresh approach by grasping the nettle of what the relationship is between the reader and literature.
It is aimed at all practitioners and students of reader development and written by people currently involved in delivering the service. Contributors come from a fantastic variety of settings that include face-to-face work; academics; booksellers; poets; musicians; a book-group member.
The surprising beginning, written by an author of fiction (Ann Cleeves), gets you into reading and thinking about that aspect of our relationship with literature, i.e. between the author and me. It’s interesting content structure and format includes an introduction to sections to give the context, and shows how a reader develops...just as you do as you read the chapters. The chapter at the end is by a reader and so we complete a circle and a journey within this book. It is literature. It shows us the subject by doing it.
I enjoyed the prodding to make us ask the important questions in library & information services (LIS) i.e.: Who is the reader? How can we reach them? Each chapter is special and offers practical tools in setting up or providing an aspect of reader development service.
Diversity and equality of access What librarians could try is to build confidence in wannabe readers help them learn to enjoy literature.
Some testimonials are produced and for me the most moving part is Jane Davis’s chapter, which consists of staff reflections and personal interviews on the experiences of attending a ‘Get into Reading’ group. The stories are beautiful and sad. Poignant lines tell us how attendees to ‘Get into Reading’ groups would never consider going into a public library, never mind joining the Library Book Group. The perception is still that the library and its’ staff are too scary, not always friendly or understanding. Examples in this chapter are stories of people who are at first unable to participate other than listening to others reading aloud. After a time, something happens- confidence, self-esteem - and that person starts reading too. The benefits are evident. My opinion is that the line about the library being unapproachable is important for us to hear. At last, we should admit that traditional library services don’t welcome everyone at every level of reading.
‘Everyone who works in health and social care is aware that there is a crying need for work which will bring people together and offer opportunities for meaningful conversations and shared pleasure.’(Jane Davis, p.93).
Jane also interviews a library assistant and her experiences of offering this service has widened her perspective of how libraries (especially public libraries) can be an effective tool in social regeneration and social inclusion. It’s inspiring stuff and some say it’s heralding the next new hope for the library profession: get into reading and spread the enjoyment of literature!
Future possibilities are addressed and attention to issues such as hypertext reading and futuristic fiction development for younger readers can be usefully checked out here and reflected on. There is discussion on e-book development in several articles, aiming to advise and guide us to manage new technologies and adopt new strategies.
Is it possible that we allow for the possibility of being both a technophile and a bibliophile equally? The impetus is for us to go beyond the worries of ten years ago that ‘the book is dead’ - affected by the e-book hype. The book instigates our further reflection with a discussion of this question by Bob and Andrew Glass and Ann Barlow.
The book is full of examples of projects and successful approaches to widen paths to literature. I recommend it highly as the current state-of-the-art in imaginative reading and practice in LIS in UK.
- Author
- Susan Horby and Bob Glass
- ISBN
- 9781856046244
- Publisher
- Facet
- Publisher's website
- http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk