Social Tagging and Secondary School Libraries

This chapter examines the Archive of Our Own (AO3) tagging system and backend design to determine how its successful elements can be implemented in a secondary school library setting. Specifically, it looks at social tagging on the platform to evaluate how effective a collaborative tag-based search system could be as a supplement to a traditional school library catalog. The author conducted field research and created an online library tagging template for school use. Google Forms are also used to generate content for the platform, which is designed for both librarian and student user groups. This work was carried out throughout the 2019-2020 school year. The author found that community care, subject knowledge, and “tag wrangling” are the key elements of the AO3 that can potentially be leveraged in a secondary school library environment to promote student engagement and reading for pleasure.

The Power of Love

Reading for pleasure, or aesthetic reading, brings about a colossal number of benefits. Only half of Americans can say they read even one book a year for pleasure. The rate of teachers who read for pleasure is approximately the same as the general public. The standards-based approach to education, which resulted in a surge of standards-based testing, has not resulted in a significant improvement in reading teaching or learning for students. In fact, the achievement gap and the plight of the struggling learner has not improved at all. The standards-based testing movement may be partially to blame for the reduction in reading enjoyment. Increasing a love of reading in students can make a significant impact on a student's academic career. The teachers now in the classroom do not have a love a reading to model or pass on to students. Teachers have the power to impact how students feel about reading. As higher education instructors it is time to take actions that will bring about more success for our students and their students.

Battling With Books: The Gamification of an EFL Extensive Reading Class

Background Extensive reading (ER) classes have become a popular way to promote reading in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms because ER supports the idea of reading for pleasure. However, reading in the classroom can still become stale if students have little chance to reflect on what they have read or if they become burdened by the reading requirements. Aim In an attempt to create a more energetic ER classroom, we converted the classroom into a game-based environment with the aim of promoting L2 reading enjoyment and motivating students to read in a more focused manner . Method As for specifics, 55 female Japanese university students—divided into two groups based upon English proficiency—participated in a social book reading game called Bibliobattle whereby students discussed their favorite books in small groups. Three iterations of the game were incorporated into the ER classroom as a way to enliven reading activities. Results The game proved largely successful. From the data obtained in the debriefing questionnaires, students mentioned that they were motivated by the activities through reflection on their book’s content and through the sharing of specific details about what they had read with their peers. Although both groups of students indicated their motivation to play the game, this was especially true for the lower level readers—a group that had demonstrated more apathy towards ER in the past. Based upon our experiences while running the game, we recommend that Bibliobattles be implemented as specialized events in the ER classroom as a means to help stimulate a love for reading in a second language; however, it should also be noted that student preparation for such battles is time-consuming, so the number of battles per semester should be limited to a maximum of two per semester.

Factors Affecting Reading for Pleasure Practices in Community Libraries in Thailand

<p>Studies have identified that reading for pleasure (RfP) has a positive influence on reading behaviour and is more important for academic success than family socioeconomic status (SES) (OECD, 2010). RfP can play a significant role in promoting literacy development, and reading behaviour in areas of low SES. In Thailand, however, RfP is a contested reading concept because reading is traditionally associated with academic purposes. To investigate the current status of RfP in Thailand and the role played by community libraries (CLs) in its promotion, a study was undertaken in the largest and most economically disadvantaged part of Thailand, the Northeast region, or Isan. This research lies within the social constructivism paradigm and uses an applied multiple case study design. The study has two objectives: 1) to identify the factors affecting RfP reading promotion practice in CLs in Isan, and 2) to determine how these factors affect RfP reading promotion practice in CLs in Isan. Data were collected in eight CLs by 1) semi-structured interviews, 2) observations during library visits and library activity attendance, and 3) documentary analysis conducted on documentary sources. Qualitative data were analysed by open coding using NVivo11. The generation of a preliminary set of codes was deductively derived from literature and the research framework which was based on 1) Krashen’s Free Voluntary Reading (FVR), and 2) Asselin & Doiron’s Ecological Framework for Community Library Developments. Four theoretical categories were derived from the iterative inductive data analysis and the deductive literature review: 1) Thai Reading Context, 2) Thai Cultural and Social Factors, 3) Isan Socioeconomic Influences, and 4) CL Factors. They were used to write case reports on four types of CL: 1) CLs established by an expert organization, 2) CLs under the Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education (ONIE), 3) CLs established by health promotors, and 4) CLs established by individuals. This was followed by cross-case analysis derived from combining, comparing or contrasting the findings from each case, providing a higher level of interpretation showing in four themes: Theme A. Provision of Book Access in Disadvantaged Areas; Theme B. Literacy Development Support; Theme C. Provision of an Inclusive, Safe Atmosphere; and Theme D. Active Roles of Key Individuals in RfP.</p>

Factors Affecting Reading for Pleasure Practices in Community Libraries in Thailand

<p>Studies have identified that reading for pleasure (RfP) has a positive influence on reading behaviour and is more important for academic success than family socioeconomic status (SES) (OECD, 2010). RfP can play a significant role in promoting literacy development, and reading behaviour in areas of low SES. In Thailand, however, RfP is a contested reading concept because reading is traditionally associated with academic purposes. To investigate the current status of RfP in Thailand and the role played by community libraries (CLs) in its promotion, a study was undertaken in the largest and most economically disadvantaged part of Thailand, the Northeast region, or Isan. This research lies within the social constructivism paradigm and uses an applied multiple case study design. The study has two objectives: 1) to identify the factors affecting RfP reading promotion practice in CLs in Isan, and 2) to determine how these factors affect RfP reading promotion practice in CLs in Isan. Data were collected in eight CLs by 1) semi-structured interviews, 2) observations during library visits and library activity attendance, and 3) documentary analysis conducted on documentary sources. Qualitative data were analysed by open coding using NVivo11. The generation of a preliminary set of codes was deductively derived from literature and the research framework which was based on 1) Krashen’s Free Voluntary Reading (FVR), and 2) Asselin & Doiron’s Ecological Framework for Community Library Developments. Four theoretical categories were derived from the iterative inductive data analysis and the deductive literature review: 1) Thai Reading Context, 2) Thai Cultural and Social Factors, 3) Isan Socioeconomic Influences, and 4) CL Factors. They were used to write case reports on four types of CL: 1) CLs established by an expert organization, 2) CLs under the Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education (ONIE), 3) CLs established by health promotors, and 4) CLs established by individuals. This was followed by cross-case analysis derived from combining, comparing or contrasting the findings from each case, providing a higher level of interpretation showing in four themes: Theme A. Provision of Book Access in Disadvantaged Areas; Theme B. Literacy Development Support; Theme C. Provision of an Inclusive, Safe Atmosphere; and Theme D. Active Roles of Key Individuals in RfP.</p>

Children’s Leisure Reading in the Nahḍah

Children made up a substantial segment of the literate public that emerged during the Arab nahḍah period. Of these, an apparent minority applied skills they acquired in school to reading for pleasure or satisfying juvenile curiosity. This study explores the novel practice of Arab youth leisure-time reading as reported in retrospective memories and autobiographies. It reveals that during the nahḍah’s early decades, the inventory of Arabic readings fit for children was strikingly limited—unlike the multitude of books that were available to adults—a reality that forced curious boys and girls from different classes to make do with adult books for their after-school reading. This article examines cultural factors for that scarcity (primarily the status of children in society) and economic ones (e.g., publishers’ business concerns) and considers its implications. Probing a seemingly marginal section of a wider scene, it sheds light on hitherto neglected facets of the Arab transition from widespread illiteracy to extensive literacy at this point in history.

Actors and Aliens: Representations of Teenage Protagonists in Bestselling YA Fiction

<p>This project explores the representation of teenagers in some of the most popular Young Adult Fiction (YA) books of the early 2010s. A dominant assumption within the scholarly discussion of YA is that YA books are books for young people that feature protagonists with whom young people personally identify. Through an analysis of nine American YA books, this thesis offers an overview of the sorts of protagonists often found in the novels on New Zealand’s YA bestseller lists. Reporting results from a questionnaire and one-on-one interviews conducted with young YA readers, it explores whether or not this model of being a teenager is one with which young people do actually identify. Using Erving Goffman’s 1959 theory of impression management as a lens, this thesis explores how the protagonists of the selected novels see their world as a stage upon which they are expected to act out socially acceptable roles. While female protagonists use strategies to meet this pressure and emerge as competent social actors, male protagonists find themselves governed by forces beyond their control that render them social aliens. Whereas female protagonists face negative consequences for being themselves, male protagonists are rewarded for doing so. Regardless of their acting ability, all protagonists are represented as confused, insecure and troubled. The selected texts thus support stereotypes about teenage girls, teenage boys and young people in general that differ from those of the past but are ultimately no less problematic. The participants in this project’s small mixed-methods study shared this view of the protagonists but did not generally identify with them. While they enjoyed reading these books, this was not necessarily because of the protagonists, for whom they felt more concern than empathy. Rather than reflecting any kind of ‘truth’ about what it means to be a teenager, it seems that the protagonists of the selected texts reflect how adult authors, editors and booksellers imagine teenagers to be. This is a significant finding given the rising numbers of adults who are reading YA and the declining numbers of teenagers who are reading for pleasure.</p>

Actors and Aliens: Representations of Teenage Protagonists in Bestselling YA Fiction

<p>This project explores the representation of teenagers in some of the most popular Young Adult Fiction (YA) books of the early 2010s. A dominant assumption within the scholarly discussion of YA is that YA books are books for young people that feature protagonists with whom young people personally identify. Through an analysis of nine American YA books, this thesis offers an overview of the sorts of protagonists often found in the novels on New Zealand’s YA bestseller lists. Reporting results from a questionnaire and one-on-one interviews conducted with young YA readers, it explores whether or not this model of being a teenager is one with which young people do actually identify. Using Erving Goffman’s 1959 theory of impression management as a lens, this thesis explores how the protagonists of the selected novels see their world as a stage upon which they are expected to act out socially acceptable roles. While female protagonists use strategies to meet this pressure and emerge as competent social actors, male protagonists find themselves governed by forces beyond their control that render them social aliens. Whereas female protagonists face negative consequences for being themselves, male protagonists are rewarded for doing so. Regardless of their acting ability, all protagonists are represented as confused, insecure and troubled. The selected texts thus support stereotypes about teenage girls, teenage boys and young people in general that differ from those of the past but are ultimately no less problematic. The participants in this project’s small mixed-methods study shared this view of the protagonists but did not generally identify with them. While they enjoyed reading these books, this was not necessarily because of the protagonists, for whom they felt more concern than empathy. Rather than reflecting any kind of ‘truth’ about what it means to be a teenager, it seems that the protagonists of the selected texts reflect how adult authors, editors and booksellers imagine teenagers to be. This is a significant finding given the rising numbers of adults who are reading YA and the declining numbers of teenagers who are reading for pleasure.</p>

Enhancing the Reading for Pleasure Habit of the Students of Samtse College of Education

Reading is an essential skill for everybody especially for the students of Samtse College of Education who are future teachers. They need to read to enhance their communication skills, upgrade their knowledge and skills and be role models in reading for their students. However, we have found that the reading for pleasure habit among the students is poor. Students generally use social media during their leisure time instead of reading which is a concern both for their lecturers and the institution. An action research study was carried out to improve students’ reading for pleasure habit. Data for the study were gathered using a survey and interview. A total of 325 students completed the survey and 57 students participated in the interview. The data were collected twice; before (baseline) and after the intervention. Comparison of means was used to analyse the quantitative data and the qualitative data were analysed thematically. Following the analysis of the baseline data, three intervention strategies were employed; Our Time To Enjoy Reading (OTTER), Self-indulgence Reading, and Raffle Draw. These strategies were implemented in all the 16 classes for a period of 8 weeks. The comparison of the analysis of the pre-and post-data showed that the interventions have been effective in promoting the reading for pleasure habit of the students.