The value and impact of reading imaginative literature

Abstract

Reports results of a study, undertaken at the University of Sheffield and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), which addressed the question of what motivates adults to invest time in reading as a means of assessing the value and impact of public library book reading. The methodology for the full AHRB project involved an extensive literature review, focus groups and a preliminary questionnaire survey issued to all UK public library authorities to assess the current level of activity in relation to fiction and fiction promotion. In addition, stock management and selection policies were evaluated and used to inform interviews with library stock managers and those responsible for reading promotion. The paper focuses on that part of the study where participants were asked to talk about their reading. Individual readers were interviewed and focus groups were undertaken to examine people’s reading experience. The focus groups were selected to reflect the variables in the population and included non-users as well as users of the public library service. The results confirmed that reading imaginative literature is regarded as a special activity which serves to satisfy a wide variety of needs. The data dispel the myth of the stereotypical image of a reader as someone who is introverted and reluctant or unable to participate fully in society. There is convincing evidence that through reading a person’s life can be transformed. Also, for those who regard themselves as readers, reading is not only deemed a special activity but a crucial one. Their accounts reveal that the reading identity is not fixed but changes according to time and personal development.