Title: Making a Difference: The 2006 Guys Read Book Club Summer Program for Boys Hennepin County Library
1Making a Difference The 2006 Guys Read Book
Club Summer Program for Boys Hennepin County
Library
A Report of a Collaborative Evaluation
Project Partners The Library Foundation of
Hennepin County, Hennepin County Library Staff,
and the University of Minnesota--College
of Education and Human Development, Literacy
Program Area Research Staff Professors David
OBrien Deborah Dillon Research Assistants
Scharber Nichols February 15, 2007
2Does the HCL Guys Read Program make a difference
in boys reading behaviors and attitudes?
Results indicate a resounding YES!
Boys (directly quoted via survey and interviews)
say the following about the impact of the Guys
Read program i'm reading alot more i read
more books I am a exelent reader Discussing a
book makes me feel more like I understand
it. It helped me learn new words. Each time I
read i get better at it Oh, yeah, Im really
interested in trying to continue that Among the
Hidden series, so as soon as they come out with a
couple of new books, I will be the first to read
them.
3Key Findings Impact of The Guys Read Program
- Boys reported that they read more
- They were more likely to read
- They had more positive perceptions about
themselves as readers - They were less likely to view girls as being
better readers than boys - They were more likely to view reading as a
positive, socially constructed process
4Background Information Jon Scieszkas
Guys Read (GR) Initiative
-
- The mission of Guys Read is to motivate boys to
read by connecting them with materials they will
want to read, in ways they like to read. Jon
Scieszkas goals for GR include the following - Make some noise for boys.We have literacy
programs for adults and families. GUYS READ is
our chance to call attention to boys literacy. - Expand our definition of reading.Include
boy-friendly nonfiction, humor, comics, graphic
novels, action-adventure, magazines, websites,
and newspapers in school reading. Let boys know
that all these materials count as reading.
5- Give boys choice.Motivate guys to want to read
by letting them choose texts they will enjoy.
Find out what they want. Let them choose from a
new, wider range of reading. - Encourage male role models.Men have to step up
as role models of literacy. What we do is more
important than all we might say. - Be realistic. Start small.Boys arent believing
that Reading is wonderful. Reading is often
difficult and boring for them. Lets start with
Here is one book/magazine/text you might like. - Spread the GUYS READ word.Encourage people to
use the information and downloads on this site to
set up their own chapters of GUYS READ, and get
people thinking about boys and reading.
6What are the Characteristics of the HCL Guys
Read Program?
- Guys Read is a summer book club program, designed
by the - HCL for boys aged 9-11 the program is based on
author Jon - Scieszkas Guys Read initiative. The program
is - --available to boys in the greater Minneapolis,
MN - area (Hennepin County)
- --designed to encourage boys to read over the
summer months and beyond - --created to foster boys' positive
attitudes/associations with reading and develop
reading habits over time - --developed to promote positive relationships
between boys and male book club facilitators
7Description of 2006 Guys Read Summer Book Clubs
- Book clubs met at 16 different library sites
between June and August - Clubs were facilitated by male volunteers trained
by library personnel in how to lead a book club
and facilitate the weekly discussions - Participants received free books throughout the
program - Books were chosen based on several criteria
- topics of interest to boys
- titles that could be easily read
- books that engendered discussion
8How Do We Know that the HCL Guys Read Program
Makes A Difference?
- Purpose of the Evaluation Project
- To document the HCL Guys Read Book Club
Programwho participates in the summer program,
what it looks like in action, when and how it
operates in particular settings, and the impact
of the program on boys reading attitudes and
practices. The overall goal is to determine what
the program means to the participants (the boys
facilitators).
9Evaluation Questions
-
- 1. What do boys think about reading prior to,
and after participating in the Guys Read book
clubs? - 2. What are boys perceptions about themselves as
readers prior to and after participating in the
Guys Read clubs? -
- 3. What books/materials do boys read and what
impact on reading habits and choices do the Guys
Read clubs have?
10- 4. What perceptions do boys have of other males
as readers prior to and after participating in
the Guys Read book clubs and interacting with
male book club leaders/mentors? - 5. What activities and structures associated
with the Guys Read book clubs help boys find
reading meaningful and worthwhile? What engages
boys and supports their reading and completion of
books over the course of the book clubs? - 6. What characteristics of the Guys Read book
clubs influence boys long-term reading
preferences and habits after they participate in
the program?
11Design of the Evaluation Project
- Pre- and post-survey data were collected
- Focus groups and individual interviews with boys
and group facilitators were conducted - Book Club sessions were observed over time
12Data Sources and Analyses
- Data were collected as a naturally occurring part
of the Guys Read Program - Boys were asked to
- complete online surveys (pre post)
- participate in focus groups (pre post)
- In addition, several boys were interviewed and
- selected groups were observed as part of
- the evaluation project
13Participants
Sixteen (16) Guys Read Book Clubs were included
in the evaluation sample Total Enrollment 194
boys Total Number of Boys with signed permission
forms 89 boys (45.8) Demographic Data
Survey respondents were predominately White
males (84) and a few males of color ( 4 Native
American, 3 Asian, 3 African American)
14- On-line Survey Data
- Pre-survey data were collected through an online
instrument (Zoomerang) from 76 of the 194
participants (39) - Post-survey data were collected in a similar
manner from 36 of the 194 participants (19) - The pre-survey included 32 items, the post-survey
19 items - forced choice items using likert-type scales
- open-ended items with text fields allowing
participants to write responses - The survey constructs measured boys
- reading attitudes and habits
- perspectives about the role of gender and reading
- perceptions about ability and self-efficacy as
readers - perceptions about the Guys Read Book Club
15- Focus Group Interviews
- We gathered pre-and post-focus group interview
data at - the initial and final meetings of the book clubs
- 12 book clubs completed both pre- post-
- focus group interviews
- 15 total pre-focus group interviews were
conducted - 13 total post-focus group interviews were
conducted -
16- Interviews
- We gleaned additional data about the boys'
individual - perceptions about reading and their experiences
in the - groups through individual interviews. We
interviewed - 11 boys (individually), from 7 book clubs
- 7 additional boys were interviewed in small
groups - We also interviewed 6 of 10 facilitators to
obtain their perceptions of the book clubs
17- Interviews and Focus Groups enabled researchers
to - obtain reactions and opinions from boys about the
clubs, reading, and the books w/o influence from
facilitators (e.g., favorite part of club,
surprises, benefits, affect on reading how much
they read) - hear how much boys loved the clubs
- understand events that we could not infer
directly from observations - gather different information than surveys, which
had low response rates - provide a place for boys opinions to be heard a
place where they could expand on their thoughts
when they were not as willing to type their
thoughts into the online survey
18- Observations
- We sampled from the corpus of discussion groups
7 out of 16 sites were observed - 22 total book club meetings were observed across
the beginning, middle and end of the program - Club A 5 times
- Club B 4 times
- Club C 3 times
- Club D 3 times
- Club E 3 times
- Club F 2 times
- Club G 2 times
19Scope of Data Collection Across Sites
20(No Transcript)
21(No Transcript)
22(No Transcript)
23Survey Sampling
Pre
Post
24Results Organized by Research Questions
- Question 1 What do boys think about reading
prior to, and after participating in the Guys
Read book clubs? -
25How much do you enjoy reading? (Pre-Survey N76)
26Which of these are reasons you like to read?
(Pre-Survey N76)
27I like reading 70
- What is clear is that the boys participating in
Guys Read have selected the Guys Read club
because reading is something they like to do.
Guys Read provides a context for boys to - read with a group of their peers
- meet other boys who may not go to their school
- read materials which would not typically be part
of a Language Arts curriculum - discuss topics that might not relate to the book,
the lesson plan, or the interest of the teacher.
28Reading time
- 47 read print materials 4 or more hours a week.
- 22 read digital text 4 or more hours a week.
- 25 read for homework 4 or more hours per week
- 24 do not read any digital texts
- 5 report not reading for homework
- All of the boys read print
29Indications
- There is a greater trend towards reading text
for enjoyment than there is for homework or
reading digital text. - no boys who completed the survey indicated that
they do not read - some boys stated that they do not read to
complete homework. - some boys stated that they do not read digital
texts
30Have you participated in book clubs or discussion
groups with books before?
yes
No
41
59
31What are some things you do in your spare time
other than reading? (Pre-Survey N76)
32- Question 2 What are boys perceptions about
themselves as readers prior to and after
participating in the Guys Read clubs?
33How well do you think you read in comparison to
other people your age? (Pre-Survey N76
Post-Survey N36)
7
14
18
30
28
30
47
47
31
31
34How do you know how well you read in comparison
to other people your age? (Pre-Survey N76
Post-Survey N36)
7
11
50
42
26
26
17
22
Although the responses for this item were from
different samples from different survey
instruments, the item wording was identical, and
in comparison, there is a similar pattern across
the responses
35 Which of these statements BEST describes what
happens when you read? (Pre-Survey N76
Post-Survey N36)
5
17
12
3
3
0
45
53
8
11
5
3
22
14
36Why did you decide to participate in the Guys
Read Summer Book Club Program?
Pre-Survey N76
37What do you think will be some important benefits
of being in the Guys Read Book Club Program?
Pre-Survey N76
38- Question 3 What books/materials do boys read
and what impact on reading habits and choices do
the Guys Read clubs have?
39How do you decide what to read? (Pre-Survey N76
Post-Survey N36)
40 Which of these types of books do you like to
read? Select number 1 if it is your favorite type
of book select number 2 if you like it but it is
not your favorite select number 3 if you do NOT
like this type of book. (Mark all items as
either a 1, 2, or 3)
41- Pre-survey data indicated the following
- That the public library is the preferred place to
find books you might want to read (78) - That the main criterion for selecting a
particular book was that it was on a favorite
topic (62) - That book stores are a popular place to select
books but not as popular as libraries (47) - More than half of the respondents said they would
read every book written by a favorite author
(43).
42- Post-survey (N36) data indicated the following
- That books were still selected by boys based on
their favorite topic (58) - But there was a shift toward the importance of
friends recommendations in their choices (33).
- Again this indicated the influence of the social
nature of the books clubs on book choices
43Question 4 What perceptions do boys have of
other males as readers prior to and after
participating in the Guys Read book clubs and
interacting with male book club leaders/mentors?
.
44Who do you think reads the most Boys or
Girls? (Pre-Survey N76 Post-Survey N36)
45Perceptions About Why Girls Read More than
Boys Pre-Survey Responses
- Girls read lot more because I see them doing it
at school all the time - girls are smarter and dont play as much sports as
boys - Girls because they have more spare time
- They are more into working on homework or doing
other stuff like reading and reading like a girl
in my class she read the harry potter series 3
times all 6 of them! - Girls. I think boys like to play rough sports
instead of read. - Girls-They are obsessed
- girls becase they start reading earlyer than
boys. - Girls, because I think that they might not do as
many activities as boys - my mom reads a lot
- boys.because most boys read average or a lot and
most girls read a lot or not at all - Because I think that boys have more time to read.
46Perceptions About Why Girls Read More than
Boys Pre-Survey Responses
- Becase boys do a lot more thing than girl sorry
if I afeaded anyone - I believe both boys and girls read, but it was
not a selection - Boys, because they mostly have nothing
- i dont know it was hard to guess who to choose
- Girls have less stuff to do
- Because ussually boys like to play video games or
play sports. And girls ussually talk or read
books - Boys like to read action books and mystery
- boys im a boy duh
- Girls are more academic
- I have seen a lot more girls read than boys
- BECAUSE I SEE GIRLS READING ALOT IN THE LIBRARY
AND OTHER PLACES - Because boys just don't seem like that type of
person that reads books a lot and girls do - boys because lots of the boys in my class read
more than the girls
47Perceptions About Why Girls Read More than
Boys Post-Survey Responses
- sort of
- beacause most are not to active
- cause they do
- Dksvndk
- Nt really because I think they read about the
same - i dont now
- because girls are not in to sports as much boys
but i think sometime - boys read more, or the same as girls
- because a lot of boys say that don't read like my
friends, and a lot of the people in my book club
diddent finish the book because they diddnent
like the book - Boys like to read a lot too
- because ever body read the same amont
- Thay are more into it
- They dont play as many sports.
- becuase they usuely have less to do
- because there is a guys read and not a gals read
48Perceptions About Why Girls Read More than
Boys Post-Survey Responses
- I don't know. I'm not concerned about it
- they just seem to read more
- because some are better than some boys and some
aren't - when i did an advanced reading groups it always
has like 3 boys and 7 girls. - because i am a boy
- because they dont play video games so instead
they read. - Because we play a lot
- no
- Boys are usual more active with sports
- I think they read the same
- because my firends do not read much
- They have more time, their less intristed in
sports - I think they do because they have more time to
and they like reading more.
49- Question 5 What activities and structures
associated with the Guys Read book clubs help
boys find reading meaningful and worthwhile?
What engages boys and supports their reading and
completion of books over the course of the book
clubs?
50- Observation Details
- Facilitators asking questions/boys responding
- Ranged from very structured to non-existent
- Wide variety of book club activities including
- Boys pulling questions from bucket
- Planned activities focused around a book
- Game playing
- Importance of Food
51Book Titles
- Books were predetermined by facilitators or
librarians prior to book clubs first meetings - Boys were not involved in choosing books
52Observation Club A
- prior Boys socialized, ate snacks
- 10 min Facilitator-led questions about book
- 10 min Authors website projected onto wall
using LCD projector. Low lights. Facilitator and
boys surf the site took online quiz about
book told jokes - 8 min Discussion of mythology (related to
text) map of constellations on wall boys out of
chairs pointing to constellations - 8 min Facilitator illustrated (using LCD) how
to use librarys catalogue to find more books in
series - 10 min Closing tickler to get boys interested
in book for next meeting GR clubs during school
year promoted high-5s as boys leave
53Observation Club E
- 17 min Boys trickled in and gathered at snack
table found a place to sit - 48 min Book discussion. Facilitator passed
around a bucket of questions created by librarian
and facilitator. Boys drew questions out of
bucket and took turns answering - 5 min Drawing for prizes introduced book for
next meeting parents arrived boys left
54- Observations of book club sessions confirmed the
following - Reading was taken up as a social activity instead
of an academic one - The 45 minute sessions consisted of social time,
eating snacks and drinking soft drinks, jostling
and joking and small group discussion time - These actions confirmed the boys perceptions
that the program was fun. Most boys came to the
session prepared and willing to participate in
the discussion. - The overall depth of the discussion and the
ability of the leader to sustain the discussion
varied across sites and may be a function of the
experience and comfort level of the leader
55Favorite books from Guys Read
Post Survey N 36
Not all of these books were read by all groups.
Some groups read different books than others. Not
all groups reported for the surveys such as
Augsburg Park and Rogers.
56Examples of Facilitators Questions
- If you were Charlie Bone, and you could have one
endowed power, what would it be? - What did Merlin learn about himself?
- What was the most exciting or interesting part of
the book? - Show me with thumbs up, down, sideways how you
liked the book. - If you were in character's situation, what would
you do? - What might happen in sequel?
- What would you bring on an adventure?
- If you have a friend that is your best friend,
how do you know your best friend is your best
friend? - Would you want to be a wizard? They have powers
but not liked or trusted. - Who should xxx be loyal to? Did he break his oath
to Mom? - Lying is bad? When is it ok to lie?
57Interviews Focus Groups What Boys Thought of
Book Clubs
- I thought that it the book club was going to
be one of those boring things that some other
libraries have, but this one was a lot more fun. - It the book club has helped me read better. I
found some good books. I found some new stuff,
like authors and types of books. I found that
they have all the good books in the teen
section. - Reading is more fun in a book club, definitely.
Yah, much funner.
58Interviews Focus Groups What Boys Thought of
Book Clubs-cont.
- After we finished discussing the book, we got to
eat a snack, and we got to run around the room.
He didnt try to make us sit downhe did try to
make us discuss it, but we didnt. I thought we
would just be sitting down the whole time. Fun
surprise. - You know how in school they have AR Accelerated
Reader classes? Guys Reading is better. Because
when youre reading in school you cant have fun,
you have to sit down and read a book, and if you
say one word the teachers like, Quiet down,
read it in your head. complaints about
substitute teachers
59(Interview Q) What was the best thing about the
book club?
- Reading the books. I liked the books they picked
out. - Talking to other kids about how they feel about
books. - We got to, like, discuss the book, and sometimes
if I didnt understand a part I could understand
it more at the discussion. - I really liked the facilitator. Hes a really
nice guy. - Finding a new series to read.
60(Interview Q) What was the biggest benefit to
being in the club?
- Finding more books that I like to read!
- The food, because I need food and Im a growing
man. - I think the biggest benefit was realizing that
there was more books than what I have read out
there, and books that could be more interesting,
new books. Not necessarily new types, just new
books to read, new things to do, new things to
read when you have spare time. - I probably wouldnt have read this summer, if it
wasnt for the book club.
61(Interview Q) How have you changed as a
reader?
- Im reading more. Every time I go to a library I
pick up five books, and then I read them. So I
think I read a lot more. - Im reading more books, and Im reading more fun
books that I like. Before I was in book club I
wasnt really reading books that I liked, I was
only reading what I had to read.
62(Interview Q) If you could change anything about
the book club, what would you change?
- I would change the snack bowlI would add more
and more snacks to it laughs. - Make it longer so we can read more books. I
think we should read more than three books. - If I could change something, it would probably
be more, like, fantasy books. - I wish it would last about ten million times
longer. - I think it should be, like, eight more books.
- I wanted more meetings, because there were only
five, and I wanted seventy billion.
63- Question 6 What characteristics of the Guys
Read book clubs influence boys long-term reading
preferences and habits after they participate in
the program?
64How did you benefit the most from the Guys Read
Book Club?
Post Survey N36
This sample was combined between the two post
instruments.
65Do you think you read better because of the Guys
Read Book Club? Post Survey N36
6631
69
Yes 69
No 31
67- 83 of the boys said that they believe they will
read more in the future due to the Guys Read
program because - they learned about and read good books
- the reading and discussion inspired them and
- they believe the more you read the better reader
you become.
68Thoughts from Facilitators
- its a really nice for an outlet for kids who
like to read, boys who like to read, to have a
place where they can go and meet other kids who
like to read and be rewarded for reading. - if they the boys walk away saying, wowdid
you have fun this summer? oh yeah, yeah, I went
to this reading club. Bingo. Thats it. Its
really the fact that they get excited about
coming and talking about a book or being in a
book group.
69(Facilitator Interview Q) What was the most
interesting or surprising thing about the program
for you?
- how engaged the boys will actually be
sometimes. I mean certainly they stray from the
conversation, but some of the things they have
said have been really neat to hear, that they are
thinking about this so much and not just reading
itI was surprised how interested they were in
the food.
70(Facilitator Interview Q) What do you see as the
value of Guys Read overall?
- The short-term benefit is it associates reading
with something other than school and its the big
dilemma that I have always seen with guys and
reading, girls will keep it up for some reason,
guys will drop it because they get bored, because
of the material they read in school and all that.
I actually have seen some of the kids years
laterand Ive asked them hey, are you still
reading, and everyone of those guys can tell me
yes.
71(Facilitator Interview Q)cont.
- either theyre the boys encouraged, supported
in an already confirmed decision we like
reading and we support that, or we can get those
introductory readers into the rhythm of reading
for fun, which is one of the good things about
Guys Read, which is to say, hey, you like reading
and that is totally fine just when you are
entering an age when it starts to become uncool
to read, we want to make sure that you know it is
completely bad- to open a book.
72(Facilitator Interview Q) Is there anything you
would change in the future?
- I think they number of book groups throughout
the summer - I think there should be more. I mean
a lot more people would sign up for continuous
ones and make more of an impact. - I think 8-10 would be a good size to haveThey
the boys can come up with fairly thoughtful
answers to the questions that I posed, but at
least with this number they werent discussing
amongst themselves, and they werent posing their
own questions.
73Limitations of the Results
- Pre-and post survey participation was an issue
for this evaluation study. Participation was
enhanced when librarians and facilitators were
able to encourage participants to take the time
to fill out the online survey. - Issues that led to low response rate
- The length of the survey was difficult for some
boys to manage - Boys who didnt complete the survey prior to club
time had to do so at the library this cut into
book club discussion time - Often there were not enough computers available
for boys at the library site during club time to
enable them to complete the survey - Time had to be allocated at the beginning or end
of a session (or before/after) for the boys to
take the pre- and/or post-survey - Parents and boys may have needed more rationale
for the importance of completing the pre and post
survey
74Significance of the Evaluation Study
- Developing evaluation systems for out-of-school
programs is important for the staff of a large
library system like HCL for these reasons - It provides data to improve programs that are
responsive to the diverse communities they serve - It helps them bridge reading practices and
participation structures in school with reading
practices outside of school - It provides data to help libraries understand how
to bridge school cultures, home cultures, and
library cultures related to reading.
75Significance of the Evaluation Studycont.
- It provides information about a subset of
clientele, in this case the Guys, and a
specific setting, the books clubs, that will
help serve them better by - providing direction for helping boys secure and
read materials that they are motivated to read, - facilitating talk about these texts to help the
boys better comprehend them, and - providing a setting in which the boys can
interact with other boys and male mentors to
encourage further reading in- and out-of-school
and foster a life-long love of reading.
76Making a Difference The 2006 Guys Read Book
Club Summer Program for Boys Hennepin County
Library
A Report of a Collaborative Evaluation Project
RECOMMENDATIONS FUTURE RESEARCH Partners The
Library Foundation of Hennepin County, Hennepin
County Library Staff, and the University
of Minnesota--College of Education and Human
Development, Literacy Program Area Research
Staff Professors David OBrien Deborah Dillon
Research Assistants Scharber Nichols February
15, 2007
77Suggestions for 2007 Evaluation
- 1. Continue to collect high quality data from
more boys and across multiple book clubs
strengthen the rationale for why an evaluation
system is important. - 2. Pre- and post-online surveys are critical to
the evaluation. - 3. Post-focus groups provide the needed
explanation of what the program means to
participants--why they believe and act as they
do. These data are used to triangulate with the
primary data source (surveys) and add power to
the findings.
78Suggestions for 2007 Evaluationcont.
- 4. Some structured observations of book club
meetings are needed to continue to document what
happens, what works, and areas for reflection. - 5. Education is needed for all involved in the
evaluation How it works, why particular
procedures are followed, and how this ensures
trustworthy findings that can benefit the
program. Training in all facets of the
evaluation plan that involves facilitators and
librarians can be provided during facilitator
training.
79Developing Quality Evaluation Processes and
Sustainability
- 1. Make the informed consent process part of the
registration procedures. For sustainability U
of MN training can continue to occur to support
HCL staff in how to obtain informed consent and
required record keeping. - 2. Make the completion of the pre- and
post-survey part of the first and last book club
session this can be a 30 minute session PRIOR TO
the start of the first and final meeting. For
sustainability Librarians can work with
facilitators to secure computers for this
activity and ensure that all boys complete the
surveys.
80Developing Quality Evaluation Processes and
Sustainabilitycont.
- 3. (30 minutes prior to the 1st session) Invite
parents/caregivers to attend a social session
they will meet other parents while the boys
complete the pre-surveys . - (30 minutes after the last meeting) Invite
parents to be part of a focus group/social time
so that data can be obtained from them to
supplement the findings. For sustainability U
of MN training can be provided to support
librarians on how to conduct focus group
interviews with parents while the facilitators
allow boys to complete the surveys on computers.
81Developing Quality Evaluation Processes and
Sustainabilitycont.
- 4. Ask librarians or facilitators to use a
structured set of questions to conduct a brief
(15 minute) post-focus group discussion with the
boys tape record the session. Individual
interviews with boys could be dropped if the
post-focus group sessions are conducted. For
sustainability U of MN training can be provided
in how to conduct focus group interviews the
training could occur during facilitator
orientation. - 5. Obtain the facilitators perspectives via an
online survey.
82Developing Quality Evaluation Processes and
Sustainabilitycont.
- 6. Continue observing selected book clubs at
various sites using a structured guide for
writing fieldnotes observe 2-3
sessionstypically at the beginning, middle, and
end of selected site club meetings. For
sustainability Consider pairing up two
facilitators and having them observe each other.
This might provide a helpful way to gather data,
but also promote sharing of ideas across
sites/facilitators.
83Proposed Research Summer 2007Cassie Scharber
- Whos Involved?
- Online book clubs during Summer 2007 grades 4-6
- Not just Guys Read, but also all-girls and
mixed-gender - Ann Melrose (HCL)
- Why?
- Extension and complement to HCLs GR evaluation
as well as inform other public libraries and
schools about online book clubs for kids
84Purpose of Research
- Describe the nature of and involvement in the
preteen online book clubs. - What is the meaning and nature of the
computer-mediated discussions and postings
present in the online spaces of the book clubs?
85Why is this Research Important?
- Research shows a serious decline in both literary
and book reading by adults and youth of all ages,
races, incomes, and education levels (NEA, 2004). - Despite technologys purported role in the
decrease in pleasure reading (NEA, 2004), online
book clubs may offer a convenient, albeit ironic,
forum to inspire a love for books in preteens.
86Very little research on either in- or
out-of-school book clubs No research on online,
public library book clubs geared toward preteens
including online book clubs that are increasingly
offered at public libraries around the country
and in Canada I consider your online book
clubs as sites of possibility. They not only
encourage pleasure reading but also provide
forums for preteens to socialize, discuss texts,
and use both old and new literacy practices
in out-of-school contexts.
87Questions Discussion