Time For A Change Toolkit
CONTEXT OF READER DEVELOPMENT
In 1992 a conference Reading the Future brought together for the first time publishers, booksellers, librarians and arts administrators to discuss the future of literature in libraries. Described as a "sea change" (Niven, 1992) by many chief librarians who attended, it pointed the way to new funding, new training programmes and the need for new 'reading agencies' all of which have pushed the reader development movement forward over the last decade.
In the last 10 years reader development has gained a huge momentum, aided in large measure by the National Year of Reading in 1997/98 [2] and then by the Public Libraries Reading Challenge Fund. These sources of new funding gave library services the opportunity to access money for additional work focused on reaching new readers.
Reaching new readers is extremely important for the survival of library services. Libraries know who their traditional users are. The majority are older people with a lifetime habit of reading and using libraries whose numbers are naturally declining. A study Reading the Situation: Book reading, buying & borrowing habits in Britain (2000, p34) showed that "the average number of hours spent reading books increased with age, from just over 3 hours a week among children aged 0-5 to nearly 8 _ hours a week among 65+s who contained the highest proportion of 'heavy' and 'very heavy' readers".
The other major user group is children up to the age of 11 who are encouraged to use libraries through parents, nurseries, playgroups and schools. Use by young people tends to drop off when they reach secondary school and have greater demands on their time and interests.
"Typically the extent of reading as a leisure activity increases for boys and girls up to the age of 11 or 12. It then tails off, particularly among boys, so that by the time they leave school, many are not really reading for pleasure at all." (Reading the Situation, 2000, p10)
One way in which libraries have been able to attract large numbers of new users recently is through the introduction of information computer technology (ICT), particularly taken forward through the People's Network project - a project which has linked every public library to the Internet [3]. It can be observed that free access to ICT in every public library undoubtedly brings large numbers of younger people through the doors. A challenge for library staff is to engage these new customers with other library services. A perception of many regular library users is that computers are replacing books. Undoubtedly some books are - the need for large amounts of space devoted to reference volumes is diminishing. However the output of fiction and books for leisure, as well as for popular learning, has never been greater. There is an increasing need for library staff to assist potential readers in finding their way through the mass of publishing to find the right read for them.
The Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport said of Public Libraries in 1999:
"There is a continuing tendency in some analyses of trends in library services to stress the competition between the book and new technology. This is a false antithesis. Their development must be complementary not competitive. We are convinced that the book will survive for the foreseeable future. It will be supplemented not superseded. The challenge for the library sector is to ensure that the development of information technology in libraries broadens library services and does not take place at the expense of the book."
Books and reading remain the core business of library services. While services have diversified enormously, the provision of free reading material remains the central reason why libraries exist. If the use of libraries for reading material declines dramatically, then the need for libraries ceases to exist. Computers are increasingly available in individual homes, schools, colleges and community centres, videos can be rented from hire shops, and music can be downloaded from the Internet. The competition for our services is widespread. It is vital for libraries' survival that the audience for reading is developed.
While it is true that increasing numbers of books are bought rather than borrowed, and that bookshops have flourished over recent years, recent studies have shown that borrowing and buying are not mutually exclusive. Encouraging reading appears to boost the sales of books both directly to consumers and through libraries. The study Reading the Situation (2000, p14) showed that "even the heaviest borrowers from libraries.... are more likely to buy as well as borrow".
The value of reading for personal and social development has been stated many times. The most recent government report Framework for the Future (DCMS 2003) states:
"The value of reading...stretches far beyond the benefits to the individual. It brings social benefits. It is hard for people to be active citizens unless they can read newspapers and government publications. It is hard for people to be informed consumers.... Being unable to read cuts people off: from their own potential and the society around them and libraries are recognised by the government and Cultural agencies as key deliverers of reading material of all sorts".
Reader Development therefore has grown out of libraries' need to modernise and engage with new audiences.
