Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal December 2008 Volume 6(6)

Reader development

Lessons in strategy

David Kenvyn thinks that all leading librarians (and leaders to be) should read this excellent text on the way forward for libraries and reading.

I have to begin by declaring an interest. I was one of the people who was asked to comment pre-publication on one of the chapters in this book. That chapter of course is excellent but it does not stand out because the other chapters are excellent as well. This is only to be expected, given the enthusiasm, experience and commitment of the authors to the concept of reader development.

The first chapter, ‘Starting with the Reader’ reminds us of what a library is about. Reader development is not about persuading people to read better books, whatever they are. It is about giving people the widest possible range of reading choices, and recognising that the best book for a reader is the one that he or she likes best at that particular moment. In other words, back to Ranganathan’s rules – every book has its reader, and every reader has his or her book.

Each chapter puts the reader at the centre of delivery. Each chapter has a challenge for librarians. Sometimes cherished procedures may be shown to be a totally unnecessary waste of time. This can be salutary because if there is no benefit to the reader, then the fact that we have always done something is no justification for continuing to do it. Our security blankets, of which we can be very fond, are sometimes snatched away from us

The ‘wake up calls’ sections are particularly useful from this point of view. All of us will recognise some of the views being expressed. One of my particular favourites was “As an upgrade to our library environments, we will be placing plasma screens in every service point over the next six months”. Each ‘wake up call’ is embedded in a chapter that gives us the arguments to challenge what is being said, and to take the service forward in improving our delivery to the reader. And this is important, because if we are to empower the reader and encourage them in exploring the world of books, then staff need to have the assurance that they are working within an agreed strategy to a particular end.  

This book sets out the processes which need to be gone through to create a reader-centred strategy, in a structured way. It leads us step-by-step through the process. It gives a very good description of the resources available, including the Frontline training course, www.whichbook.net and the importance of monitoring and evaluating what we are doing.

It is quite realistic about this. We do not have to pretend that every promotion is a success. How could we do this in Scotland, when we have the example of the ‘Print Options’ promotion in front of us? The point with Print Options is that we did monitor and evaluate the promotion, and we then learnt from our mistakes. We were not averse to taking a risk, but when all the evidence showed that this was not what our readers wanted, we accepted that and moved on to new ideas. The following year’s promotions ‘So You Think You Know Scotland’ and ‘Voices of Scotland Now’, supported by author visits, were very successful.

This book also celebrates our successes. There is nothing that can possibly compare to whichbook.net for the range of reading choices offered. This website is the work of dedicated librarians (myself included) and is generally acknowledged to be one of the best readers’ websites available. Where else can you choose a book, without knowing the author title? Where else can you choose a book by its content (happy, larger than life, sex) without having a clue about its subject matter? Where else can you find a book to cheer you up because it is about someone more miserable than you? And yet, in many libraries, when staff are asked to recommend a book they will fall back on ‘Who Writes Like’ or ‘Sequels’. So we need to ensure that our staff members are aware of the up-to-date resources about books available through the Internet.

This book is about empowering readers and staff. If the staff are not empowered to offer reader choices confidently, then the readers will not be empowered to make those choices. It brings together the experience of librarians throughout England, Scotland and Wales, and it guides us to consider what we now need to do.

How do we apply the lessons we have learned? That will be up to the readers of this book. It is attractively designed, with clear illustrations giving examples of good practice, and it is well laid out for easy use. It will help the readers to develop strategies, including branding, to improve staff training, and to make people more aware of web-based resources that can assist people with reading choices.

So, who are the readers of this book? Anyone interested in developing the reading choices of the public in libraries. They have no other task that is more important than reading this book. The authors predict that the next ten years could and should see a “…revitalised and re-energised library service, recognised by customers, partners and funders for its unique role in enriching people’s lives”. And who will be leading the charge? The readers of this book. 

David Kenvyn is Assistant Manager, Community Libraries, East Dunbartonshire Council.

Rachel Van Riel, Olive Fowler and Anne Downes. The Reader-friendly Library Service. Opening the Book 2008.

Information Scotland Vol. 6(6) December 2008

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