Guidance for reader development with new adult readers

Reader development is a pro-active approach to promoting reading which focuses on the needs of the individual reader and offers support and choice. When used effectively, reader development techniques have enormous potential for encouraging adults to explore the reading experience, adding real pleasure and purpose to the business of acquiring skills.

convey passion about books motivate and engage a group or an individual who may have little or no history of reading make people feel comfortable and at ease with the idea of reading demonstrate that reading can embrace everything from text messaging to the classics, depending upon individual taste and ability

Reader development tends to be:

a shared activity inclusive a very powerful tool for changing attitudes to reading a way of developing a sense of ownership and self-learning a focus on individual tastes and preferences sufficiently motivational to inspire people to do things for the first time a way of creating enthusiasts able to act as advocates for reading

Special events and activities

Events and activities for emergent readers might include targeted Readers Days, "taster" tours of the library or, if you are running a reading group for emergent readers, visits based on what the students are reading. Discuss your plans with Skills for Life partners to maximise opportunities to link with the curriculum.

Be alert to opportunities to link your activities for emergent readers to other national reading promotions, such as the Six Book Challenge, BBC RaW, World Book Day or the 2008 National Year of Reading.

In 2006, Hull Libraries ran a special Six-book challenge for adults which was then taken up by library services across Yorkshire. It has now been launched as a national Six Book Challenge by The Reading Agency as part of The Vital Link programme.

Read about Hull Libraries six-book challenge

Several reader development opportunities have arisen through the BBC RaW campaign - see RaW and libraries ideas bank for examples and contact details and www. bbc.co.uk/raw/ for downloadable resources from the BBC RaW team.

Evaluating Reader Development Work

It is important to evaluate the reader development work you do with emergent readers. Evidence of the impact of this work on learners will help you bid for funding to extend it further or, in the worst case, may help you defend it if it is under threat. Library managers, elected members and Skills for Life partners are all more likely to support reading for pleasure with emergent readers if they can be shown hard evidence that it improves learners' reading skills, encourages them to read more and develops their confidence and self-esteem.

The Vital Link has developed an evaluation toolkit based on the methodology used for an impact research project commissioned from Morris Hargreaves McIntyre in 2005. This has been piloted by a small number of authorities and is now available for use by library staff and Skills for Life practitioners engaged in reading for pleasure activity with learners and emergent readers. The Reading Agency is keen for library authorities and their Skills for Life partners to use the toolkit in order to test it further and add to the evidence base. Please contact genevieve.clarke@readingagency.org.uk if you are planning to use the toolkit in any way or if you have any comments or queries about its use.

Some librarians have developed their own evaluation documents to assess the value of reading for pleasure activities with emergent readers. Click below to download Bradford's Book Chat evaluation forms.

Course appraisal (Word document)

Enrolment Form (Word document)