Promoting reading 1
are a female-dominated activity. The typical book
circle participant in Sweden is a woman of retirement age. For example, the proportion of women participating in book circles organised by adult education associations in recent years has hovered between 80 and 85 per cent. The overwhelming majority of book circle participants are people aged 65 years or more. Rydbeck notes a sharp rise in recent years in the number of participants in the oldest age category. Rydbeck estimates that two thirds of Sweden’s municipalities offer book circles. Book circles at public libraries have increased markedly in recent years. Since book circles appear to have become a tool to attract adult readers, Rydbeck sees this increase as an indication that public libraries have strengthened their reading promotion efforts that target adults. Referring to the National Library of Sweden statistics, Rydbeck notes that between 2007 and 2011 there was a 189 per cent increase in book circle activities at Sweden’s public libraries. Since then there has been a further marked increase: In 2011, 5,400 book circle and reading group sessions (closed meetings with literary orientation) were held at Sweden’s public libraries. In 2013, close to 6500 book circle and reading group sessions were held. In 2014, that figure had risen again to 11,000 sessions, constitute an increase of around 70 per cent in just one year. Since 2011, the number of book circle and reading group sessions has more than doubled. It is a bit tricky to compare the statistics of adult education association book circles with those organised by public libraries, because they are conducted in different ways. Among other things, the National Library of Sweden’s statistics on book circles report the number of books circle sessions, but not the number of book circles. Within adult education, book circles are counted as a subcategory of study circle. However, the trend appears to be that while the number of book circles organised within adult education associations is falling, there has been a dramatic increase book circles held within public libraries. The UK has a well-developed tradition of hosting reading groups at public libraries that is worth taking note of. A major survey of reading group activities was carried out in 2002 by the reading promotion organisation The Reading Agency on behalf of the London Libraries Development Agency. The study shows how libraries can use reading groups strategically, and why they should. The survey charted private reading groups as well as reading groups organised by libraries. The study is predominantly quantitative, even if qualitative aspects such as members’ attitudes, motivation and experiences of the circles are also reported. It identifies a number of advantages of reading groups for their members and the libraries that host them, proposes best practice for their organisation and administration, and identifies opportunities for various forms of collaboration. A more detailed description of the report can be found in Lundin (2004). A report that The Reading Agency produced in 2004 in connection with the development of a National Action Plan for public libraries’ work with reading groups is also of interest. This report listed the positive effects of reading groups as more and broader reading, higher lending rates and consumption of books, but also how reading groups help to increase knowledge and a sense of community. An example of a current study of reading groups is Reading Groups, Libraries and Social Inclusion: Experiences of Blind and Partially Sighted People (Hyder 2014). It is a longitudinal research study of reading groups for the visually impaired. Hyder recounts 72