Arab online book clubs: A survey

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to shed light on the current situation of Arab online book clubs and give a comparative account of their performance. Seven online book clubs were discussed, five from Saudi Arabia and two from Egypt. The empirical approach used to address the research problem was a field study with a questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent via e-mail to book club moderators to get general information about the clubs, membership, discussion, services, promotion and evaluation. The findings revealed that despite low participation and superficial discussion, and lack of services provided to readers, Arab online book clubs are becoming a promising environment for promoting reading, and motivate people from all ages to contribute and exchange ideas because these clubs have arisen with a primary objective to promote and enhance reading. The study showed that young Arab readers have begun to discuss books in online groups, and established their own online clubs. This means that Arab online book clubs work away from librarians and publishers in Arab countries. The research paper addresses the current lack of empirical literature on traditional and online Arab book clubs, and offers practical details and many significant results, so that Arab public libraries, communities, authors, publishers and even individuals can capitalize on the positive aspects of current book clubs and create their own. At the end of the paper, the author provides recommendations for the improvement of Arab online book clubs.