Promoting reading 1
Chapter 8. Making reading accessible The library
space British author of literature for young people Aidan Chambers has pointed out that all reading must be done somewhere and where we read affects how we read. Chambers has described children’s and young people’s reading as a kind of circle in which the various stages lead back to the beginning again: SELECTION Bookstock, Availability, Presentation, accessibility ENABLING ADULT READING Time to read, Hearing it done, Doing it for yourself RESPONSE Formal Talk, Book Gossip Response, Enjoying it again From: Chambers, A. (1991) The Reading Environment. Stoud UK: Thimble Press. In The Reading Environment (1991), from which the model shown above is taken, Chambers stresses the importance of facilitating the process of reading by providing special places for reading, which also indicates that reading is valued; and to put out books and display them, which is both a way of providing tips on books to read and showing that reading is valued. Selection presupposes a range to choose from, and the selection should be broad and varied. In addition, the selection must be available and presented in a way appropriate to the intended target group. Making books accessible can mean, for example, making it easier for children to make their own choices through the location of the books. Most libraries are furnished in such a way as to allow reading on site, but it has been pointed out that the media themselves often dominate the library space in a way that makes it more inviting to experience them elsewhere. As we will see however, various activities are being pursued to make the library into a reading environment to experience in the here and now. In Studier av barn- och ungdomsbibliotek (Studies of libraries for children and young people) Rydsjö and Elf (2007) discussed the various functions of a 85