Special Topics Paper-Reader's Advisory and Leisure Reading at Academic Libraries

Popular Fiction and Reader’s Advisory at Academic Libraries

                My first experience at an academic library was as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota Duluth.  Aside from all the things one might expect to find in an academic library (computers, study rooms, periodicals, archives, and scholarly monographs), UMD Library also featured an extensive popular fiction and bestsellers collection.  The entire first floor held only books in those categories; they weren’t all fictional but even the non-fiction materials were bestsellers and thusly more closely related to pop culture than academia (celebrity cookbooks and memoirs, Post Secret and Ripley’s Believe It or Not books, for example).  The library also has an extensive fiction audio book collection.  It hosts the Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards each year to honor and celebrate area authors, illustrators, and publishers, getting considerable press and promotion for the library and university in the process.  I had been under the impression that all academic libraries valued and promoted leisure reading in this manner.  I soon found out, however, that this is far from the truth. 

                Reader’s advisory and leisure reading once played a major part of services offered at academic libraries.  According to Julie Elliot, back in the 1920’s and 1930’s reader’s advisory was one of the main services offered at academic libraries, and reading was even considered ‘the king of sports,’ according to a 1939 handbook printed at the University of Iowa (35).  The start of the Second World War, however, led to a decrease in free time and reader’s advisory services started to slump in not only academic but all types of libraries.  It is worth noting, however, that while reader’s advisory had a sort of renaissance in public and school libraries this has not been the case in academic libraries. 

The idea of an impermeable, intimidating, or daunting academic library filled with dull books is one mentioned frequently in the literature (Smith & Young, 521; Nicholson, 181).  The term ‘library anxiety’ is now relatively common.  Imagine a first year student, accustomed to school and public libraries stocked with not only materials that can help them with their school projects but also materials for leisure reading, on their first foray into the academic library.  It is quite probable that no fun displays or brightly colored, invitingly designed book covers greet them.  They wander over to the periodicals but find only dull academic works, no leisure titles are found there either.  This first impression presents a library drastically different from any they have ever known, and might not make a good impression.  Will they come back, or will they choose to go it alone, using only the library’s databases and electronic resources?

So why has popular fiction and reader’s advisory been left out at academic libraries?  A number of barriers have been cited in the literature but time and time again the three most common appear to be time, space, and budgets (Elliot 36; Trott & Elliot 341-342; Nicholson 180).  It has been argued that librarians do not have spare time in which they can offer reader’s advisory services, as they are either too busy acting as information specialist (a role seen as more worth and important than reader’s advisors), instructors, reference specialists, or gatekeepers for the technological world (helping with access or related technology issues).  On a related note, aside from perhaps not having time for reader’s advisory some librarians feel it is simply outside the scope of their job demands and not worth pursuing.  For example, one librarian, when surveyed about the topic, felt that the mission of the “academic library is to support the curriculum.  Popular reading is for public libraries” (Trott and Elliot, 342). 

Space is also a concern for many academic libraries who have limited shelf space to work with.  This is especially concerning when one considers popular fiction collections; the common practice in other libraries is to leave book jackets on and shelve them in such a way that there may be room to stand especially attractive books up, so that their jackets may be visible and browsed more easily.  Academic libraries tend to remove book jackets and rarely have shelf space for those types of on-shelf displays. 

Finally, libraries of all types seem to be struggling economically these days, and academic libraries are no exception.  They face flat lining or decreasing budgets, and one librarian (when surveyed about the subject) indicated that her library did not even have sufficient funding to fully support teaching, learning and research at her institution and that using her limited funding to acquire materials outside those categories (such as popular fiction or materials for leisure reading) would be irresponsible (Trott and Elliot 341). 

Looking at this issue from the patron’s point of view, we find yet more barriers.  Already mentioned was the decline of free time during and after the world war.  This issue, however, is worth further explanation.  Many universities now serve large distance-education or non-traditional populations and students also often carry part-time jobs in addition to full-time class loads.  Faculty, too, find themselves pressured to create knowledge via research and publications rather than exploring and contemplating other’s ideas in the publish-or-perish system that rules academia today.  Both populations, then, find themselves with less and less free time for leisure reading.  Indeed, 2007 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that on weekends young adults aged 15-19 spent just 16 minutes of time on reading for pleasure while adults aged 20-24 spent only 7 minutes on reading for pleasure during the weekend (Trott and Elliot, 340). 

Despite all the reasons it isn’t offered, reader’s advisory services and leisure reading can have a positive impact at academic libraries and should be offered.  First, it can counter the daunting first impression many academic libraries leave and perhaps make the library a more welcoming space.  It might also bring more people into the library that wouldn’t have previously visited; this in turn can raise circulation statistics and awareness of other library services, all of which would be beneficial when trying to get funding for such programs from administrators (Nicholson 182).  Additionally, leisure reading has been linked to improved critical thinking skills, writing skills, and literacy levels, all of which are key skills found in undergraduate curricula around the nation and instrumental in the creation of lifelong learners (Nicholson 182, 183). 

So how can the barriers I mentioned previously be countered so that reader’s advisory services and leisure reading might become part of an academic library’s services and missions?  To overcome space and budget issues, many authors suggest that libraries consider making use of titles already on their shelves.  For example, there are likely already fiction books used to support academic programs that could be pulled and arranged by genre or (alternately) listed on genre reading lists along with call numbers so that users may seek them if they choose (this eliminates the need to pull and rearrange them) (Nicholson 184; Smith and Young, 522; Trott and Elliot 342; Elliot 37).  Another possible option if special, separate popular fiction shelving is not possible is to save book jackets (which are often discarded in academic libraries) and use them to create displays with call numbers so patrons may find the books in the stacks. 

It is also argued that a minimal investment in popular items can create a huge return; several institutions take advantage of paperback rental programs and have a constant supply of new popular material at a lower cost than purchase and have seen a great increase circulation numbers as a result (Nicholson 184; Campbell, O’Brien and Flanigan 9).  Strategies like this are attractive because libraries needn’t be concerned with a need for weeding or finding additional space as the collection doesn’t grow but merely rotates out.

                Another frequently mentioned option is partnering with local and regional public libraries.   There can be several different levels of partnership.  For example, Indianapolis Public Library extends membership to IUPUI students (and those of other area schools) even if they are not residents of Marion County; University Library and IPL branches could work together to promote each other’s services and perhaps even collaborate on programming and events.  This solution might also be helpful with the argument that academic librarians don’t have time to perform reader’s advisory; general reader’s advisory queries could likely be handled at the library’s reference (information, help…) desk, without need for dedicated staffing or extra time input.  If, however, a patron wanted more extensive reader’s advisory services they could perhaps be referred to staff members at the public library. 

Nicholson suggests another type of collaboration between public and academic libraries, in which academic libraries may receive donations of recreational books from public libraries that have to be weeded and will not be used for things like friends of the library sales (183).  The Edmonton Public Library has even gone so far as to open a small branch library on the University of Alberta campus for circulating popular materials and holds pickup (Nicholson 183). 

                One final barrier (and solution) that should be addressed is the readiness of librarians to offer reader’s advisory services.  If an institution is considering adopting popular fiction and reader’s advisory services it may find oppositions from librarians who have never provided reader’s advisory (or had training on how to provide it) and feel uncomfortable suddenly being asked to perform these duties.  This is certainly a rational and valid feeling, but not one that cannot be overcome.  With the renaissance of reader’s advisory in recent years came a number of tools like Novelist, Booklist, Genreflecting, GoodReads, and LibraryThing (Nicholson 184; Smith and Young 524).  Other training options include attending reader’s advisory workshops which may be available at area libraries or at professional association conferences (Smith and Young 524). 

                My alma mater, the University of Minnesota Duluth, is a shining example of how reading for pleasure and reader’s advisory can have a positive impact at the library, university, and community level.  Unfortunately UMD is a relatively rare example of leisure reading and reader’s advisory in the academic world.  Rochelle Smith and Nancy J. Young, in their article for the Journal of Academic Librarianship, call upon academic librarians to embrace reader’s advisory and leisure reading saying, “As academic librarians, we have allowed ludic reading to slip outside our purview and it is time to re-examine its role within an academic setting.  This type of reading is crucial, and promoting it remains an essential part of our profession…who better to take this on than academic librarians with our deep collections?” (524). Leisure reading promotes critical thinking, literacy, and writing skills, each of which are central to library missions.  Why then, would we not embrace it and promote it in our academic libraries? 

Works Cited

Campbell, Kathy, Debbie O'Brien, and Jean Flanigan. “Creating a Reading Culture in an Academic Library.” Southeastern Librarian 53.1 (2005): 7-10.

Elliott, Julie. “Academic Libraries and Extracurricular Reading Promotion.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 46.3 (2007): 34-43.

Nicholson, Heather. “How to Be Engaging: Recreational Reading and Readers' Advisory in the Academic Library.” Public Services Quarterly 8.2 (2012): 178-186.

Smith, Rochelle, and Nancy J. Young. “Giving Pleasure Its Due: Collection Promotion and Readers' Advisory in Academic Libraries.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 34.6 (2008): 520-526.

Trott, Barry, and Julie Elliott. “Barriers to Extracurricular Reading Promotion in Academic Libraries.” Reference & User Services Quarterly 48.4 (2009): 340-346.

Doomsday Book- A Science Fiction Annotation

 

This was pretty much my first foray into science fiction and it was great!  I've actually already checked out a few of the recommended related titles from Novelist, and will also be looking into more works by Connie Willis.  Five stars.

Author: Connie Willis

Genre: Science Fiction

Publication Date: July 1992

Number of Pages: 578 (paperback)

Geographical Setting: Oxford, England

Time Period: 2054; 14^th century

Plot Summary: For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.
But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her [as they fight for their own lives]. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin -- barely of age herself -- finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours (description from the publisher).

Subject Headings: Time travel (Past), Plague -- Europe -- History -- 14th century, Civilization, Medieval -- Europe, Women college students -- England, Historians, Epidemics -- 21st century, Twenty-first century, Middle Ages -- Fiction, Black death -- Fiction, Time travel -- Fiction (From Novelist & WorldCat)

Appeal: Atmospheric, Bleak, Compelling (Taken from Novelist)

3 terms that best describe this book: Page-turner, multiple perspectives, suspenseful  

Similar Fiction Works: 

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn: In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and has never been resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical physicist girlfriend Sharon, become interested. Tom indeed becomes obsessed. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't and that violates everything Tom knows about history. What's was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago?
Father Deitrich is the village priest of Oberhochwald, the village that will soon gain the name of Teufelheim, in later years corrupted to Eifelheim, in the year 1348, when the Black Death is gathering strength across Europe but is still not nearby. Deitrich is an educated man, knows science and philosophy, and to his astonishment becomes the first contact between humanity and an alien race from a distant star when their interstellar ship crashes in the nearby forest. It is a time of wonders, in the shadow of the plague. (Description from goodreads)

In the Garden of Iden: A Novel of the Company by Kage Baker: In the 24th century, the Company preserves works of art and extinct forms of life (for profit of course). It recruits orphans from the past, renders them all but immortal, and trains them to serve the Company, Dr. Zeus. One of these is Mendoza the botanist. She is sent to Elizabethan England to collect samples from the garden of Sir Walter Iden. But while there, she meets Nicholas Harpole, with whom she falls in love. And that love sounds great bells of change that will echo down the centuries, and through the succeeding novels of The Company. (Description from goodreads)

Kindred by Octavia Butler: Dana, a Black woman, finds herself repeatedly transported to the antebellum South, where she must make sure that Rufus, the plantation owner's son, survives to father Dana's ancestor. (Description from Novelist)

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly: Chronicles the Great Plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the fourteenth century, documenting the experiences of people who lived during its height while describing the decline of moral boundaries that also marked the period. The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe by George Holmes: This richly illustrated book tells the story of Europe and the Mediterranean over a thousand years which saw the creation of western civilization. Written by expert scholars and based on the latest research, it gives the general reader the most authoritative account of life in medieval Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the coming of the Renaissance. The story is one of profound diversity and change (partial description taken from Novelist).  Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku: One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. Here, physicist Michio Kaku explores to what extent the technologies and devices of science fiction that are deemed equally impossible today might well become commonplace in the future. From teleportation to telekinesis, Kaku uses the world of science fiction to explore the fundamentals--and the limits--of the laws of physics as we know them today. He ranks the impossible technologies by categories--Class I, II, and III--depending on when they might be achieved, within the next century, millennia, or perhaps never. He uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it (from publisher description).