Promoting reading 1
groups, and the anthology På tal om böcker (Talki
ng about books) (2005) points out that booktalk can play an important role for weak readers in particular. A number of papers from the 21st century on booktalk as a method are also about its effects on low levels of literacy. There are many handbooks on the topic; only a few will be mentioned here. The booktalk method boils down to talking about books in order to stimulate interest in reading. Booktalk can convey enthusiasm for reading and also help readers to find books that they like. A booktalker who presents a novel for example can provide a glimpse of where the plot takes place, introduce some of its characters, and recount the main conflict without revealing the resolution. Booktalk at Swedish public libraries is often about fiction. An academic paper based on 119 surveyed children’s librarians in the Swedish province of Skåne shows for instance that non-fiction books occupy very little space in booktalk activities in comparison with fiction; around 90 per cent of booktalks are about fiction in all the age categories studied (Mauritzon & Wijk 2008). This could be seen in relation to boys’ general preferences for non-fiction. The purpose of the book presentation or booktalk is to get the listener sufficiently interested in the book to read it (Bodart 1980). Generally, a booktalk is by one person, but a booktalk can also be staged as a conversation before an audience, such as between two librarians (Frid 2012). A number of practical tips for conducting booktalks can be found in the anthology På tal om böcker (Talking about books). Internationally, the literature about booktalk is extensive. In particular, this applies to handbook type books about booktalk. The majority of these books are about booktalk that targets children and young people. An exception is Something to talk about: creative booktalking for adults (Cyr & Gillespie 2006), which is addressed solely to adults. The Booktalker’s Bible (Langemack 2003) lists the golden rules of the booktalk as (1) Read the book; (2) Like the Books You Booktalk; (3) Know Your Audience; (4) Booktalk; (5) Don’t Tell the Ending; (6) Leave a List. The booktalk method has been used for a long time but has undergone radical changes over time with regard to selection, pedagogy, approach to the audience, objectives, the implementation and the anticipated results. A number of papers at Bachelors and Masters levels have contributed comparative historical perspectives on booktalk activities in Sweden (see for example Kamienski 2010). Bengtsson (1998) wrote that during the 1970s, booktalks were heavily influenced by the notion of popular education, while during the 1990s greater emphasis was placed on the personal reading experience. In På tal om böcker (Talking about books), booktalking is described as the best reading promotion method. Booktalk is said to be a proven and effective method. However, what is meant by “effective” in this context, or for whom it is effective, is not gone into. What, then, is the impact of traditional book presentations or booktalk on reading? As far as I know, there is no major Swedish scientific investigation seeking to answer this question. Some thesis projects on booktalk point to an increase in the borrowing rates for the books that librarians have chosen to talk about, but these are individual observations rather than any kind of major statistical survey. The doctoral thesis, The effect of booktalks on the development of reading attitudes and the promotion of individual reading choices (Nollen 1992) is one of a number of English language doctoral theses that have examined traditional forms of booktalk and its impact on borrowing rates and attitudes to reading (see also Bodart 1985, Dahl 1988, Reeder 1991). These theses are conclusive: books that have been the subject of 63