Discussion board

How can libraries and reading be more active partners in delivering community engagement and empowerment?

2008-05-27T18:46:11Z

The conference we ran in partnership with the Local Government Association picked up on the government's White Paper Strong and Prosperous Communities. This sets out the government's ideas on how local people can have more of a say in how their communities are run. We debated the role of libraries - what can they offer, how they can promote this agenda. We'd like to hear your thoughts.

How can libraries and reading be more active partners in delivering community engagement and empowerment?

Where do we get and what do we want from stories now? What type of storytelling opportunities do games offer?

2008-11-24T15:09:31Z

At the seminar we hosted with Channel 4 we asked Do games tell a story? And if they do tell a story then what does this mean in terms of where we find our stories and what we want from them? Do you agree that games tell stories? We want to capture your thoughts. We then plan to publish a piece of new research-based thinking that reflects the discussions of the seminar and views expressed through this forum.

If Shakespeare was alive today, would he be writing games?

2008-12-04T21:45:48Z

This was the questioned raised at the debate we organised with Creative Partnership and Channel 4. The debate started by asking Do games tell a story? and by way of some lively debate and contributions we got to Would Shakespeare be writing games? The conclusion drawn by many contributors was that the many levels and layers of games means that they offer the richest creative opportunities for writers. Do you agree?

Your suggestions for books for adults who want to improve their reading confidence

2009-04-05T20:19:17Z

It's official: libraries' work to encourage less confident adult readers is creating new book buyers too. Sponsored by Costa, the Six Book Challenge is now in its second year and attracting thousands of participants in colleges, community education, workplaces and prisons, many of whom are thrilled to complete one book let alone six. Evaluation of the 2008 Challenge shows that they are also becoming converts to borrowing and buying books. Of those asked before doing the Six Book Challenge, 42% said they used a library to borrow books and only 22.5% said they bought books. Of those surveyed afterwards, 89% expected to use the library more and 60% to buy more books.

But this means there's a growing demand for short appealing books. Untainted by any literary "canon", new readers can be the straightest critics once they have the confidence to realise it's not their fault if they are not enjoying a book.

The Quick Reads have proved a hit, with both sales and library loans topping the million mark since the first titles were launched in 2006. The Reading Agency has included these and titles by smaller publishers such as New Island, Sandstone, Barrington Stoke and Accent in our unique database for emergent readers at www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk. Publishers involved in The Reading Agency's Reading Partners programme have also been suggesting backlist titles that fit our criteria - less than 200 pages, minimum 12 point text, a strong "hook" for fiction and accessible formats for non-fiction. But we need more. We'd love to hear from any publishers and authors who would be interested to work with us to entice adults into reading for the first time. Or from anyone else who has suggestions for titles that make great reads for emerging readers.

Genevieve Clarke is a senior project manager with The Reading Agency.

The missing missions - Black and minority ethnic groups are undervalued and underexplored markets for publishers

2009-04-20T22:32:21Z

Download Sandeep Mahal's London Book Fair Presentation.ppt on The Missing Millions - Black and minority ethnic groups are undervalued and underexploited markets by publishers.

Do you agree?

Sandy further expands her arguments in the following article which first appreared in BookBrunch column

How many times have we had the conversation about ethnic diversity in publishing? Publishers are looking straight ahead for new markets, instead of at the life that's going on around them, writes Sandeep Mahal, project manager with The Reading Agency.

Our multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society is a growing and important market for publishers. On 21 April at the London Book Fair, I will be speaking at an IPG seminar (15.30-16.30 Marlborough Room) to explore how publishing can become a more diverse industry in terms of what is produced and how to sell it.

I will be suggesting ways to reach Black Minority Ethnic (BME) readers through libraries - the booktrade sector closest to BME communities and changing demographics.

In recent years, the book trade shown its commitment to diversity by taking part in initiatives such as Decibel's Books for All and The Reading Agency's Reaching Readers project. These initiatives explored how new partnerships between publishers, libraries and retailers can expand the BME reading market.

Libraries understand cultural and social differences. This is key to their success in reaching and building a strong and loyal customer base. Their connections with local BME people and partner organisations have helped them develop dedicated services and identify gaps in current provision.

The main challenge for libraries is getting hold of books that BME readers want. There are whole groups of people whose stories are not available because publishers don't publish them. They're looking straight ahead for new markets, instead of at the life that's going on around them. Publishing output is slow to change and libraries report complaints of inaction from library users. There is a huge appetite for author events and new titles.

As a clear demonstration of that appetite to engage, 62% of the participants at the 16 Reaching Readers author events 2007 were from BME backgrounds. An event at Manchester Powerhouse Library saw Manchester students meet author Bali Rai. One of the teachers attending said: "The Bali Rai event at Manchester Powerhouse Library was particularly meaningful to the Asian students, because they had not met an author who was from their community or ethnic background. As an Asian person, his views had more of an impact than a white English author would have had."

There is a hunger for more author visits and Reading Partners - a consortium which aims to get more people reading more by transforming the way libraries and publishers work together - has continued to build on this work. We are opening up rare opportunities for local people to meet writers like Rageh Omaar, Jackie Walker, Constance Briscoe and Hanif Kureshi. They have all done wonderful events with hugely diverse audiences.

In terms of the product, much more needs to be done to broaden the diversity of publishing output. Research by The Reading Agency and HarperCollins provides some fascinating insights into the habits of BME readers. It revealed a growing demand from BME readers for non-fiction, particularly books based on the lives of strong role models. This presents huge challenges and opportunities for the publishing industry in producing the right books to meet these demands.

Five hundred readers were surveyed of which 72% were women and 52% were under 35. The most popular genre was crime, mystery and thrillers. Literary fiction was cited by only 26% of respondents.

Our research also found that BME readers are often being targeted with the wrong material by publishers and the media, and that literary novelists such as Salman Rushdie and V S Naipaul were not popular with the majority of BME readers.

The research and project findings suggest the publishing industry need to follow libraries' lead and address the lack of diversity and representation. Libraries can help publishers reach new readers. Seventy-two per cent of BME people are active library users, with a quarter borrowing weekly and a third monthly.

Building a grassroots ethnic readership for writers through libraries should be a vital part of every publisher's strategy. Slowly, but surely this connection will make a positive impact on expanding the book market.

Sandeep Mahal manages Reading Partners, the partnership consortium which aims to expand the market for reading by transforming the way public libraries and adult publishers work together

Reading and Health: The National Context

2009-05-15T14:59:14Z

Director of research at The Reading Agnecy, Debbie Hicks, gave a speech to bibliotherapy conference in Huddersfield on the role of reading in health and well-being. This is an extract from her speech. You can download the full speech and a copy of her presentation at the end of the extract. Do you share Debbie's views?

"I am absolutely passionate about the important, versatile and sometimes unrecognised role that reading can play in delivering health and well-being. A role that can range from the delivery of health information and self-help therapy at one end of the spectrum through to the sense of well-being generated by being part of a reading group, talking to others about books and empathising with character and story in a way that can throw a lifeline to all sorts of vulnerable people. Reading can build knowledge, grow understanding, connect people up, inject fun and throw a new light on personal experience. That makes it a pretty powerful remedy. And we are only just beginning to explore the healing possibilities of connecting up these different strands in new and exciting ways - for example combining self-help reading or health information with creative practice.

"And at the heart of all this sits the term bibliotherapy - a rather clumsy and awkward phrase, fast going out of fashion but useful shorthand for the power of reading to heal and keep people well."

Speech

Presentation

Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 Reviews

2009-06-02T07:20:55Z

Congratulations to Marilynne Robinson for Home this year's winner. Through our Reading Partners project which links libraries and publishers together we have been working with MA students from Manchester University. Their reviews of some of the shortlisted and longlisted Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 titles are below.

Tell us what you think. Leave your comments / reviews here.

With the Six Book Challenge, libraries can reach new audiences

2009-06-18T12:11:15Z

written by Genevieve Clarke, senior project manager for The Reading Agency

"Books were a hot topic at last week's TUC learning conference. John O'Farrell regaled 400 delegates with tales from his Utterly Impartial History of Britain; Lola Jaye talked about her Quick Read, Reaching for the Stars; and The Reading Agency launched a booklet about a successful partnership between libraries and trade unions to promote its Six Book Challenge scheme, run in association with Costa Coffee, in workplaces as diverse as Corus Steelworks, Fox's Biscuits, a Royal Mail depot and Tesco in Yorkshire.

"Judging by the enthusiastic response of delegates, reading is likely to feature at future conferences as well. The trick has been to recruit union learning reps to the cause, people who have caught the learning bug and now promote learning to their peers.

"There are now 24,000 trained union learning reps across the workforce in England, keen to find ways to entice colleagues into learning centres and on to courses to improve their skills. They're aware of the Quick Reads through support from the TUC. and many run book swaps or small libraries. Schemes such as the Six Book Challenge are ready made as a catalyst to get people talking about reading and learning in the workplace.

"The idea has already been picked up by the TUC in the North-West, where Merseytravel, Warburtons and Jobcentre Plus are trying it out. Individual unions such as the Communication Workers, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers, and the Fire Brigade are also coming on board in different parts of the country. Now that the Six Book Challenge has caught their imagination, there's no stopping these new activists for reading. And for libraries there's a fantastic opportunity to work with new partners and reach new audiences."

How can video games encourage adults to read more?

2010-06-24T15:36:47Z

We've just published our report Gaming for reading where we discussed how the scale of engagement achieved by the gaming industry could be harnessed to encourage adults with low literacy to read more. Download the report to read our recommendations.

We're keen to take this work forward by encouraging people involved in the gaming, publishing, research, library and educational sector to join in the debate about the opportunities gaming for reading offers reluctant or emergent adult readers.

We'd like your thoughts. How do you think video games encourage adults to read more? How can the joy of an 'epic win' in gaming engage less confident adult readers? Should we see the use of new technology in reading as an opportunity or threat? And how could The Reading Agency translate its 'analogue game' the Six Book Challenge into something digital and more game like?

To read the report visit www.readingagency.org.uk/adults/gaming-for-reading

To read more about the Six Book Challenge visit www.sixbookchallenge.org.uk