Book Discussion Groups Research Articles

Literacy Alley: Efforts to Enhance Literacy Passion Among Students at Kanisius Demangan Baru Yogyakarta Elementary School

This study aims to explore and evaluate the efforts made in increasing literacy love in students of Kanisius Demangan Baru Elementary School (SD) in Yogyakarta. Literacy plays a crucial role in students' intellectual and social development, and an understanding and appreciation of literacy can enrich their educational experience. This research method involves collecting qualitative data through classroom observation, interviews with teachers and students, as well as analyzing documents related to literacy programs that have been implemented, and finally drawing conclusions. The results showed that efforts to increase love for literacy involve innovative teaching strategies and integrating literacy into the curriculum. Teachers actively promote students' interest in reading through activities such as book discussion groups, story and storytelling performances, library visits, promoting literacy corner projects in classrooms, and enlivening school walls and hallways with student literacy works. In addition, science literacy programs can also improve students' knowledge of nature, and storytelling teacher programs can improve teachers' and students' abilities with literary appreciation. The evaluation results showed a positive increase in students' reading interest and literacy understanding. The findings may provide insight for other schools looking to increase the love of literacy at the primary level, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between teachers, students, and parents in creating an educational environment that supports children's literacy development.

Cognitively active older adults’ comprehension and metacomprehension of negated text

ABSTRACTBackground/Study context: Previous research has demonstrated that negated text is universally difficult to understand, and while readers are aware of the difficulty, they are not always able to direct this awareness to improve their comprehension of negation. The present research aimed to determine whether this holds true for older adults, even while maintaining good cognitive function through reading activity. Methods: The study used an online paradigm, where young (age range 19–24) and older (age range 60–87) adults read passages, rated their comprehension, and answered questions about what they read. Data analysis included analysis of variance for comprehension accuracy and metacomprehension judgment as well as gamma correlation analysis for the relationship between these two variables to determine accuracy of metacomprehension judgments. Result:. Older readers, who took part in library activities and book discussion groups, had better comprehension than young adults overall and were also better able to judge their own comprehension of negative text. Conclusion: These results suggested that remaining cognitively active may help older adults not only maintain their ability to understand text but may also enhance their ability to assess their own comprehension of that text. In addition, these readers were likely able to use their experience with reading to compensate for any working memory deficits that may occur with age and which may detrimentally affect their ability to understand complex text constructions, such as negation.

Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope by Celia Viggo Wexler

Reviewed by: Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope by Celia Viggo Wexler Mary Jeremy Daigler Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope. By Celia Viggo Wexler. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. 216pp. $34.00. While there are in the United States alone thousands of women similar to the ten whom the author describes, fewer are as perceptive, well educated, and articulate as those whom Celia Viggo Wexler chose to interview for this book. Some are nationally and internationally known to those who follow contemporary church or social developments (Simone Campbell, Marianne Duddy-Burke, Diana Hayes, Frances Kissling, and the author herself), while the others are more regionally and/or topically focused (Barbara Blaine, Teresa Delgado, Sharon MacIsaac McKenna, Gretchen Reydams-Schils, and Johunda Sanders). The women’s lives are similar in several of their underlying convictions, as noted by Wexler in her introduction (9–10): “primacy of conscience, [End Page 93] importance of social justice, rejection of the church’s opposition to women priests, and a faith that transcends the institutional church.” Despite the similarities of convictions among the women, their individual biographies display the uniqueness of each. Those that tell of attempts to deal with circumstances that might seem destructively overwhelming are particularly revealing: One grew up homeless and moved with her mother from shelter to shelter, others were survivors of clergy, familial, or peer sex abuse. Still others achieved their extraordinary education while working several jobs, raising their children, and aggressively seeking out financial aid programs. Wexler reports each of the ten mini-biographies with clarity, focus, and, in the end, fidelity to the similarity that binds them into this one volume: the pain they experience(d) at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy. While the pool of only ten women is too small to make many generalizations, it is worth noting that several of them have earned advanced degrees in their respective academic disciplines and are on faculties in graduate and undergraduate schools. Others of them do their teaching in less structured settings, as lecturers, researchers, and advocates—both in the public arena and in their families. Four of them either are or were members of religious communities of women. Some are married and some have children. Their distinguishing feature is their passion for the Roman Catholic community and for bettering the lot of its members, despite the odds. The focus on details of each woman’s life is appropriate, for in them the reader will see and learn the power of each individual’s decision-making. And that is precisely the point of Wexler’s research: the hope that these women offer the world is the possibility of personal change, not necessarily of institutional reform. This book is in many ways an easy read and it draws the reader in by its clear structure, human stories, and comprehensible rendering of ecclesial and spiritual concepts. Not written as a textbook, still it deserves and will find a welcome place on college reading lists and [End Page 94] library shelves. Even more likely is the market that should develop among general readers and book discussion groups who have an interest in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church. After all, Wexler does state that one of her purposes in writing the book is to address the lack of conversation about the issues among like-minded women. Mary Jeremy Daigler Mount St. Agnes Theological Center for Women Copyright © 2017 American Catholic Historical Society

Analysis of English Teachers’ Roles as Facilitators and Leading Strategies in a Professional Book Discussion Group

<p><em>This study analyzes five elementary school English teachers’ roles as facilitators and their leading strategies in an English teachers’ learning community in a suburban elementary school in northwest Taiwan. Based on the thematic data analysis of interview, document and observation fieldnotes, this study has the following major findings. These participants aspired to be facilitators, but their lack of linguistic competence and leading strategies in the design and delivery of content made them more like sharers. Luckily, other participating teachers’ support and engagement helped them to be more like facilitators. Suggestions for effectively leading a teacher study group are provided.</em></p>

Teaching Quality Improvement Through a Book Club

Introduction: Quality Improvement projects are an important part of residency education in the United States and are required for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Participation in standard chart-based quality improvement had failed to generate excitement among residents in our program. The objective of our innovation was to inspire interest in quality improvement among our residents. Methods: Our residency program instituted a book discussion group. Attendance and participation of attendees was recorded, and residents were sent a follow-up survey one month after the activity to gauge their impressions. Results: Out of 16 residents in the program, 12 attended the discussion group, and all attendees participated in the discussion. The follow-up survey revealed that 10/11 (91%) of respondents had read at least part of the book and 11/11 (100%) wanted to have another book discussion group in the upcoming year. Conclusion: We believe that the use of a book discussion group can be a novel, inspiring strategy to teach quality improvement in a residency program.

Book Clubs—Outreach Opportunities for Hospital Libraries

Book clubs and discussion groups provide opportunities for hospital librarians to reach out to staff from all areas of their facilities while introducing them to literature reflecting participants’ personal and professional interests. Librarians presenting these case studies have coordinated local book clubs where topics ranged from titles about the nature of healing, to leadership development, and patient-centered care. Some also included contemporary novels of interest to participants. No matter the setting or scope of material discussed, each group has provided unique networking opportunities for staff to meet others working in various departments of their facilities.

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Saying goodbye has never been a favorite part of my life. For the past eight years, beginning with RUSQ 44:3, I have been privileged to edit the readers' advisory column. What a wonderful time it has been. I have had the chance to talk with and work with some of the best writers and practitioners in the readers' advisory world. I will be forever grateful that they took the time out of their busy work schedules to put together articles for the journal, sharing their expertise and building a stronger readers' advisory community through these pieces. As I move on to take up the role of editor of RUSQ, I want to use this last column, or at least the first part of it, to both reflect and to look forward. I would be remiss in leaving not to thank several people, without whom I would not have been able to make the column as good as it has been. First would be the editors of RUSQ. I have had the good fortune to work with three superb editors. In 2004, Danny Wallace and Connie Van Fleet were generous enough to offer me the position of RA column editor for RUSQ, and to get me started in the business of finding authors and crafting articles. I learned a great deal from them about working with word counts, manuscripts, writers, and deadlines, and I am grateful for their guidance. When Danny and Connie finished their terms, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work for Diane Zabel. For the past six years, Diane has encouraged and enthusiastically supported the readers' advisory column. The articles that have appeared in the RA column are in part a tribute to Danny, Connie, and Diane's patience and attention to detail. Any column editor would be lucky to have worked with and for three such fine readers and editors. I would also like to thank all of the authors who have written for the column. To me, their pieces reflect some of the best thinking about the intersection of reading, readers, and librarians. It is not always a simple thing to write a column to someone else's schedule and to accept editorial suggestions. Each of the authors I have worked with has done both of these things with grace and style. In developing the readers' advisory column, I was building on the work of Mary K. Chelton, who had previously edited the column. Under Mary K.'s guidance, the RA column offered the RUSQ community articles that presented practical advice about working with readers as well as examinations of the recent history and potential future of readers' advisory services in the United States. Her work was indeed a firm foundation on which to build. In the past eight years, the readers' advisory column has sought to blend theory and practice, looking not only at how to work with readers but also at why readers' advisory is essential in all sorts of libraries. Articles have covered a wide range of topics: book discussion groups (in both public and academic libraries as well as online), form-based readers' advisory, RA in library school education, theories of genre separation (one of my favorite topics), fiction and the brain, and readers' advisory and the library catalog among others. In each of these cases, and in the other articles too numerous to mention, the authors looked for new ways to approach readers and reading and began a conversation that often carried over into the broader RA world. That really is the goal, I believe, for any column, that it serve not as an ending point but as a beginning for reflection, discussion, and then application of the ideas it promotes. A real strength of RUSA is its varied and passionate membership. The opportunity to work with librarians outside your type of library is one that should not be under-valued. During my time in RUSA, and in particular as a column editor for RUSQ, I have learned a great deal from working closely with academic librarians and LIS faculty as well as with librarians in non-traditional roles. I hope that they have had the same experience in working with public librarians. …

Cultural Capital and Community in Contemporary City-wide Reading Programs

There are currently more than 500 city-wide reading projects in the US, and dozens in Canada and the UK. Through creative and traditional programming, such as canoe treks and book discussion groups, producers often use the One Book, One City model to “create community” through a selected text. This essay argues that instances of coming together to share reading experiences can be considered literary cultural fields as the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu conceived them. Readers seek cultural capital by participating in events because participation in book culture is considered a commendable and valuable activity. However, in order to participate, one needs to already have a certain amount of cultural literacy and capital. The essay offers an analysis of readers’ articulations of why they do and do not participate in city-wide book programming to help us better understand the motivations, pleasures and obstacles of membership in ephemeral reading communities.

Gay Men’s Book Clubs versus Wisconsin’s Public Libraries: Political Perceptions in the Absence of Dialogue

Because of an absence of dialogue, a tense relationship appears to exist between Wisconsin’s gay men’s book discussion groups and their local public libraries. Public library directors express interest in accommodating these groups if approached but face budget restrictions and local communities that may oppose these gatherings; gay men’s book clubs prefer meeting in private homes and other openly gay‐friendly environments largely because of the conservatism of cultural institutions in their collective memories. This qualitative study argues that, with consistent dialogues, gay discussion groups can help public libraries achieve their missions of diversifying their patrons, collections, and services, and that public libraries can assist gay communities with establishing themselves in the city or county’s history by hosting visible public discussions of gay texts as markers of an entire community’s cultural heritage.

Booktalking for Adult Audiences

More and more, librarians working with adult users are called on to talk to groups of readers about books and reading. Whether it is to a book discussion group seeking guidance in selecting new authors, a class on crime fiction, or a program through the library's outreach services to seniors, booktalking is no longer solely the responsibility of children's librarians. The ability to articulately and succinctly present a program on books is an essential skill for all readers' advisors. In the following piece, Jennifer Baker lays out some guidelines for librarians who are new to booktalking. She discusses choosing titles, preparing for the talk, and shaping the presentation to specific audiences. Baker is an adult services librarian in the fiction department at the Seattle Public Library and has worked as a readers' advisor and reference librarian. She is currently a member of the Reading List Council, a RUSA committee that awards best or' in eight genres each year. An alumnus of the University of Washington (UW) graduate library program, she has conducted workshops on booktalking for students in the UW iSchool and has provided training for book group facilitators in UW's Common Book program. She is a NoveList contributor, reviews fiction for Booklist and was privileged to be mentored by Nancy Pearl.--Editor Most library literature on the subject of booktalking is aimed at youth services librarians; naturally these librarians have a great deal of influence in the classroom talking to kids about books. Since youth services professionals are frequently asked to booktalk, it stands to reason that the library graduate programs provide guidance and opportunity to do booktalks and receive peer feedback. Adult services librarians are less frequently required to do formal adult booktalks--this area of public programming is largely neglected and should be included as an important element of readers' advisory services. Marin Younker states that questioning the value of booktalking to teens is like suggesting that it's a waste of time to offer storytimes to kids.(1) Story-rich programs and booktalks for adults provide the same kind of entertainment, mental stretching, and learning experience for adults, yet library literature and educational opportunities for adult services librarians-in-training is limited to nonexistent. Many adult services librarians never do a formal booktalk; most booktalking occurs in the stacks with individual patrons or online while suggesting appropriate titles on a specific topic. For the adult librarian invited to present a formal book talk in the community, the prospect can be daunting. This article provides a few practical pointers for readers' advisors to ensure booktalking success in different settings and with a range of audiences. Some elements of booktalking, such as program planning and marketing, and the physical preparations for a formal booktalk, are not addressed in this piece, but are adeptly covered in Chapple Langemack's The Booktalker's Bible.(2) CHOOSING THE RIGHT BOOKS When invited to give a formal booktalk, the first thing to ask is what the host expects: What kind of reading will interest the audience? A group often will contact the library with a request for a booktalk on a specific topic. The local art museum asked my library's fiction department to provide a booktalk presenting nonfiction and fiction about art. Such specificity of topic can be an issue if the booktalker knows little about art and has only a short time to prepare. It's helpful at the onset to glean as much information about your audience as you can: their common interests, what they might be expecting, and what kind of program they are hosting. It will quickly become obvious to you if you are not the right booktalker for them. If your reading interests and background are congruent with the group and you accept their invitation, think about the books you have enjoyed recently and which would fit the parameters. …

Reviving Literary Discussion

Over the past decade, participation in book discussion groups has blossomed. Libraries have experienced a similar growth in expectations from book club members about the services and resources that can be supplied. Working with book groups gives the library the opportunity to engage a large community of active and passionate readers. But there are challenges to providing these services. One of the great challenges faced in supporting book discussion groups is supplying enough copies of the book being discussed for each group member. In addition to the books, groups often are seeking author information, book reviews, discussion questions, and ancillary material to enhance their encounter with the book. The development of Johnson County's Book Club to Go Kits are part of a strategic direction to offer support to local reading groups and to build the community of readers. Here, members of the Johnson (Kans.) Library discuss their response to readers' needs for book club titles and discussion resources. Virginia Hermes, who retired in 2007, served as readers' advisory specialist at Johnson County's Central Resource Library. Mary Anne Hile serves as collection development manager for the Johnson Library, and earned her MLS at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Johnetta L. Frisbie is Johnson Library's fiction development librarian, and holds an MLS from Emporia (Kans.) State University.--Editor The woman consulting her list of Book Club to Go Kits (BCTGK) has been here before. She stands in front of the shelves of bags, reviewing the titles her book club wants to read next and skipping over the ones already marked off. Planning ahead is easy because of the library's check-out period of two months with one renewal. Plenty of time! She can choose from among many types of books--biographies, chick lit, ethnic, literary, mystery, nonfiction, classic, young adult crossover, and men's interests. All readers can be accommodated. The large print copy required by one of her club's members is not a concern. Most of the kits have corresponding large print and audio formats for each title available in the library's collections. Will the kits provide good fodder for discussion.) This also is a guarantee. All of the titles chosen for kits not only contain themes and issues that lend themselves to good discussion but also have discussion guides included either in the book itself or available on the library's website. Actually, she learned how to conduct a book club in this very library. The library offers sessions on how to facilitate a book club, in addition to the How to Start a Book Club link on its website and book discussion groups, led by library staff, to join and from which to learn modeling. Is this book club heaven, or what? WHY BOOK CLUB KITS? WHY NOW? Oprah Winfrey re-energized interest in literature and book clubs when she started her book club in 1996. As a result, public libraries all over America have needed to respond to renewed popular demand for books appropriate for book club discussion and for how-to information about forming and conducting book clubs. In this context, the Johnson Library staff reviewed its reader services for meeting the goals of its own strategic plan and addressing the Reading at Risk report from the National Endowment for the Arts (www.nea.gov/pub/ReadingAtRisk.pdf). The library's strategic plan charges staff with providing convenient and personalized materials for patrons and had already itemized book club discussion kits as an objective. From this review emanated a literary plan, Cultivating Readers and Writers: Building a Literary Tradition. This plan has several tangible goals including more--and more innovative--literary programming, developing a Find a Good Book page on the library's website, and promoting book clubs. The BCTGK collection is one product of this plan. How does one start? The outcomes identified in the plan were for abstract ideas such as Creation of a richer literary culture in Johnson County and Literature is a means to discussing more serious issues facing our community and our culture. …

Changing Our Brains: Transforming a Traditional View of Scholarship and Teaching

The purpose of this essay is to capture, in its earliest stages, the influence that formal recognition of Boyer’s multiple domains of scholarship within faculty evaluation standards had on a select group of colleagues within a disciplinary diverse academic unit at a midsized, comprehensive university. A process is described whereby the combination of a book discussion group, a newly approved faculty contract recognizing Boyer’s multiple domains, and a genuine commitment from a disciplinary diverse group of colleagues to the academic mission of the unit, resulted in a transformation in attitudes toward scholarship and teaching. Scholarship of teaching and learning was viewed as the key element leading to the formation of a team approach to a scholarship of teaching and learning project within a group that had traditionally pursued research separate from instruction, and individually rather than collectively.

Attending the news

This article proposes a theory about how people negotiate news as a daily regimen. The theory of purposive attending proposes a feedback loop in which awareness increases relevance, which can increase attending, which can then reset awareness. This article focuses on two aspects of the broader theory: the ambivalence surrounding everyday news-attending and the role cultural identities such as gender and race might play in heightening that ambivalence. The work, influenced by Carey's call to treat news-attending in a ritual context, demonstrates how news-as-ritual and news-as-information-acquisition exist in daily tension. The work was developed using classic grounded theory methodology, which outlines protocols for building theory from data, which included interviews, participant observation with a book discussion group, and qualitative document analysis of news discussions in selected internet communities, letters to the editor, news articles, and industry reports.

Added to the Book Discussion Group Pile: What Does Flat Mean for Business?

Academy of Management PerspectivesVol. 20, No. 2 ArticlesAdded to the Book Discussion Group Pile: What Does Flat Mean for Business?Russ Whitney and N.K. NapierRuss Whitney Vice President of Product Development at ProClarity, Inc. Boise State University and N.K. Napier Vice President of Product Development at ProClarity, Inc. Boise State UniversityPublished Online:1 May 2006https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2006.20591013AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail View articleAbstractThe article reviews the book “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century,” by Thomas L. Friedman.References Kim W. C. , Mauborgne R. 2005. Blue ocean strategy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Google Scholar Locke C. , Levine R. , Searls D. , Weinberger D. 2000. The Cluetrain manifesto: The end of business as usual. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Google Scholar Malone T. W. 2004. The future of work: How the new order of business will shape your organization, your management style and your life. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 20, No. 2 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 1 May 2006 Published in print 1 May 2006 Information© Academy of Management PerspectivesDownload PDF

Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem

Describes a two-year period in which a book discussion group proposal evolved into a viable forum for interesting monthly discussions of a variety of mysteries.

Intergenerational Connections Through Book Discussion Groups

Learning about intergenerational programming prepares health care professionals to be more competent and compassionate in working with a changing society. A unique teaching approach using intergenerational book discussion groups helps students learn about elders and provides a mutually beneficial experience. Assumptions, myths and biases held by each generation are often dispelled. Values and beliefs are clarified as members from differing generations learn about similarities and honor differences. The assignment becomes more than a technical learning situation and becomes one where friendships evolve and a deep respect for others develops. This article discusses how to plan and implement an intergenerational book discussion group for application within a variety of settings.

Ritualising in Book Clubs: Implications for Evolving Occupational Identities

This article reports on one aspect of a multi‐strategy sociological study that examined the phenomenon of book discussion groups in Australia and the meaning women attribute to participating in them. The study found that ritualising, a component of book group activities, facilitates specific customs and experiences of social order and community that are relevant to heightened self‐concept. While debates about the development and maintenance of a sense of self through occupational engagement (occupational identity) are of increasing interest, this article argues for an evaluation of how ritualising in book clubs is implicated in this process. It suggests that further research is needed into the practices of occupation‐based community groups and the role of rituals in facilitating the development of occupational identities.

Readers Are Survivors: A Middle School Student/Parent/Teacher Book Discussion Group

Readers Are Survivors: A Middle School Student/Parent/Teacher Book Discussion Group

THE POWER OF BOOK DISCUSSION GROUPS IN INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING

Learning about human development across the lifespan is basic to health care education. What better way for students to understand these concepts than to be actively engaged in projects with different generations of individuals such aselders? Active learning is an effective strategy to help developing health care professionals. This article highlights a unique intergenerational project of book study groups embedded in a health professions course focused on geriatrics. A study of this intergenerational book group immersion experience examined changes in thinking, values, and beliefs of students and elders. The qualitative and demographic participant data were coded and thematically analyzed. The outcome of the study indicates that the intergenerational group experience resulted in positive mutual benefit among students and elders. Using an intergenerational book discussion group can be a memorable and synergistic opportunity for learning.

More than a reader and less than a critic: Literary authority and women's book-discussion groups

The phenomenon of women reading books collaboratively is largely invisible, and certainly under-researched. This study, based on extensive circulation figures and on a small sample of members of four Council of Adult Education reading groups in metropolitan Melbourne, argues that such groups have a reading repertoire which is seriously middlebrow, far removed from the “wish-fulfillment” or “lazy reader” stereotypes purveyed by some who would scorn such groups. The study finds that such groups are sensitively served by the institution which hosts them. While such groups do not question the aesthetic assumptions that underlie their practice, they are combative with some manifestations of the literary establishment. Their powerful preferences for contemporary Australian women's fiction and their participation in global debates via identity politics suggests they warrant closer examination, both within Australian culture, and to find out if such groups have counterparts in other cultures.