Tuesday, October 16, 7-8:30 pm, London Public Library, Landon Branch

Part of the 5th Annual FIMS #PublicInterest Lecture Series.

All are welcome to attend.

These days we hear worried talk about the “death of reading” and arguments that we are all making ourselves stupid as we shift from reading physical books to reading screens and websites. But are these claims true? Catherine Ross, Lynne McKechnie and Paulette Rothbauer, researchers from Western’s Faculty of Information & Media Studies, report what they have found out about readers—children, teenagers, young adults, and adults—who read for pleasure. What factors turn people into avid readers? What counts as “real reading”? What role does pleasure-reading play in the lives of readers? Why has there been a recent boom in book discussion groups and in One City, One Book programs?

The panelists consider a variety of kinds of voluntary reading, including shared reading with a child or with a book club, listening to an audiobook, reading and writing fanfiction, rereading old favorites that are considered “friends,” selective reading of “important books,” and omnivorous reading. In celebration of National Library Week, the panelists will discuss ways to nurture a healthy and vibrant public reading culture. They will draw on their new book, Reading Still Matters: What the Research Reveals about Reading, Libraries, and Community (Libraries Unlimited, 2018).