Promoting reading 1
Bokcirklar.se and other digital book circles A nu
mber of digital book circles have started in Sweden in recent decades. Bokcirklar.se is a web-based reading promotion effort with reader discussions in focus, and something of a pioneer in the area of online book circles in Sweden. The initiative behind Bokcirklar.se was taken in 2007 by then librarian Nina Frid and the project is now being run by all of Sweden’s county libraries. In 2011, the adult education associations began collaborating with Bokcirklar.se to offer virtual literature circles. In Slutet på boken är bara början (The end of the book is just the beginning) (2012), Nina Frid writes that the inspiration for the website came from the traditional book circle. Frid stresses the reading promotion potential of the book circle: A person who identifies as a reader with others reads more and wants to progress in their reading. According to Frid, the purpose of Bokcirklar.se is to strengthen identification as a reader and promote the reading conversation. The aim is to coordinate and encourage a strong reading movement comprising both IRL and virtual book circles, give readers a voice, and to highlight the role of the library in providing support and a place to meet for talking about literature and for meeting other readers and authors. According to Frid, the inspiration for Bokcirklar.se came from the Danish Laeseklubben on Litteratursiden. dk, which was in turn inspired by the British Reader Development movement. Reader Development will be looked at in more detail below. Unlike a regular book blog, Bokcirklar.se is a virtual reader community, where you can write a reading diary and provide your own reading tips. You can also visit virtual chat rooms for book circles at set times. Authors and booktalker librarians regularly make appearances as guests on the site. Another activity that is part of Bokcirklar.se is the annual awarding of the “Big reader prize”. As is the case for book circles IRL, the members on Bokcirklar.se are largely women. However, the percentage of members of the male sex is somewhat higher than for book circles IRL. In autumn 2011, there were roughly three thousand members of which approximately 63 per cent were women and 23 per cent men, with about 14 per cent of unknown gender (for the most part, libraries and publishers). The average age of members was somewhere around 40 years, compared with the book circles organised by adult education associations, where the overwhelming majority are people aged 65 or older. There are a number of papers on reading groups, and in particular online book circles. For example, Bergkvist (2008) investigated how virtual book circles can be used as resources for libraries and librarians. Balling (2007) studied the Danish Laeseklubben and digital book circle in relation to the librarian’s role. Toftgård (2011) also provides a perspective on social reading online and concludes that reading groups are just part of a greater reading movement online. Toftgård also observes that participants of digital book circles have changed their behaviour when it comes to discussing books. Participation in digital book circles entails not only discussion about the reading experience after the book has been read, but also during the time it is being read; a tendency that Toftgård sees as a result of the daily use of social media. 74