Reading Motivations: What can Libraries do to Encourage Children to Read?
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Reading Motivations: What can Libraries do to Encourage Children to Read?
On many occasions, libraries get the assumption that they are boring places. Teachers and other stakeholders, therefore, look for opportunities that students can read more. There are several rewards to reading from the library, including increasing IQ (Smith, 2018), enhancing communication skills, and reducing stress among the readers. Regardless of the benefits of using the library and reading, people, including the elderly and the younger learners, still cringe at the thought of the library. The thought of the library likely scares more people away from visiting them. The use of motivational techniques in the library is proposed to rule these institutions and define learning outcomes. There is, therefore, a need for essential stakeholders to devise ways through which people read more, particularly children and the elderly. Reading motivations are techniques that encourage the learner to read while having fun. These are methodologies that have been tried and tested across the globe and proven actively workable. The problem being researched in this study is the limited or lack of reading culture among children. The objective of this research, therefore, is to establish the methods through which libraries can foster the habit of reading among children, the illiterate, the elderly, and those from less fortunate how to do a walk. The importance of researching reading motivations is that reading is a significant all-round task. This research paper offers the reader an opportunity to have a first-hand experience of the value of libraries and how these institutions facilitate in building reading as a culture. The research paper draws from previous research in establishing the roles that libraries have to play to encourage children and other vulnerable populations to read.
Literature Review
A lot of previous research has been done on the value of libraries and the impact on knowledge gaining. The focus for most studies has been on children. There is very limited research done on the elderly and the illiterate population. This literature review analyzes the studies carried out among various researchers. The main objective of this lit review is to draw an understanding of the types of studies done the implication they have had on the present study of knowledge retention. Also, the literature review will compare the various strengths and weaknesses of the ten studies. This section starts with an annotated bibliography of ten sources related to the study topic. A narrative of the findings spotting the different survey questions, related measures, and outcomes make up the proceeding section. The section ends with a portion describing the limitations of the past studies. Through this, the gaps identified will be used to direct this present study. The study is explorative. Therefore, the approach used will be a compare and contrast technique of past study. This is used to make sense of the findings of the past study and future understanding.
Hypothesis: “This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that accommodative environment within the library, extensive personal assistance, better staff attitude, and more engagement result in better reading-habit formation among children, the elderly, and illiterate populations.”
Alex-Nmecha, J. C., & Horsfall, M. N. (2019). Reading Culture, Benefits, and the Role of libraries in the 21st century. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1.
The twenty-first century predisposes people to the need for more reading and an increase in literacy skills among populations. The study further explores additional objectives of libraries that could encourage the elderly and the illiterate to make use of the libraries. These are justified as the need to gain literacy and expand on knowledge as well as self-improvement. This is a phrase that would be used with the prospect of having more positive outcomes, especially among the disabled communities. Alex-Nmecha and Horsfall (2019) offer illustrations that essentially increase the prospects of positively using the library to boost literacy and the desirability of libraries.
Berkeley, O. (2017). Booking It: Reading Behavior In The Literate Lives Of Middle Schoolers.
All parents and educators desire that their children will develop a desire to learn. The study by Berkeley (2019) indicates that middles schoolers can develop their library identity creating preference and expectations. Just as this population, policymakers and essential stakeholders tap on this opportunity to increase reading desirability by allowing the libraries to boost the confidence and passion of learners. The impact is a better population outcome full of people with outstanding and well-researched opinions. This is a critical study as it outlines tried and tested techniques in boosting reading desire and the use of libraries.
Kflu, T., & Loomba, M. A. (2019). Academic libraries and the culturally diverse student population. College & Research Libraries News, 51(6), 524-527.
Libraries may be simple to use, but they bring a new wave of problems for non-American natives. This is likely because of the language barrier, differences in technological knowledge, and feelings of insecurity among these people. Kflu and Loomba (2019), use this study to draw some of the issues that the people with English as their second language have to face when using the library. As a guide to increasing library efficiency, this article increases awareness of the issues faced by students, primarily from diverse cultures. It makes way for policy formulation and regulations that would, in turn, increase knowledge through the efficiency of libraries.
Mersand, S., Gasco-Hernandez, M., Udoh, E., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2019, January). Public libraries as anchor institutions in smart communities: Current practices and future development. In Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Public libraries are a significant part of society and serve as fore to increasing community literacy, becoming smarter, more sustainable, and highly interconnected. According to Mersand et al. (2019), these institutions have further potential for increasing literacy, and therefore more focus ought to be increased on it by the government. This serves as a tool for increasing smartness and efficiency among the community members. The basis of this study is to acknowledge the importance of public libraries and the way in which they can be explored to increase community smartness. It is imperative that these facilities get more attention, especially for the elderly and illiterate community members that desire to be knowledgeable.
Nelson, J. T. (2017). Play, The Library, and Every Child Ready to Read 2. Children and Libraries, 15(3), 37-38.
This study offers a great way through which play and reading can be used to bring about smart learners effectively. Play enhances the ability of the child to think and be independent. The implication of this is that children can make their own decisions based on the choices available. Nelson (2017) explores the application of the same interest that children have towards playing and uses these to draw better outcomes with library training. With the application of sic skills, the researcher highlights the need to have the formation of an attitude in the learner to increase better learning outcomes.
Peng, Y. P., (2019). A competency model of children’s librarians in public libraries. The Library Quarterly, 89(2), 99-115.
There are specific needs that need to be met by libraries in order to ensure increased interest and relevance of public libraries. Peng (2019) takes on this study that addresses these needs, including book searching, familiarity with the library, pleasant attitude from the staff, and knowledge of general and specific information. The basis of this study is to develop a model that increases the competency of libraries with its staff. The study is critical in addressing the significant needs that cut across for most public libraries where children, the illiterate, and the elderly go to read and eliminate their illiteracy.
Sinnasamy, J., & Karim, N. H. A. (2016). Library anxiety among non-native speakers of English: A reappraisal. Information Development, 32(5), 1621-1630.
Library services are open to all types of students, including non-native speakers of English. The study identifies that these students often struggle with language when locating content from the library. It identifies key issues, including “insufficient resources, language, retrieval, lack of library skills, technology, network, environment and services, computer and physical comfort, and emotional barriers” as those faced by these learners. While the study identifies these issues, it forms an essential background for which problems are solved. Just as in the study, it is imperative that there be an understanding of these learners to ensure that better formulas are given to these issues.
Smith, H. V. (2018). Cooking the books: what counts as literacy for young children in a public library?. Literacy, 52(1), 31-38.
The space within the library is very significant to promote concentration and offer a conducive atmosphere for learning. This is the concept that this study uses in elaborating the productivity and ability of libraries’ relevance to young users and their families. The study takes on an ethnographic approach in explaining literacy in a library setting. The implications of this study are critical to coming up with conclusions of the relevance of libraries. It includes their ability to promote reading habits and shape literacy practices. What is relevant in this study is the need for library staff to comprehend their role in supporting and promoting literacy among children by ensuring efficient organization of library space.
Xu, J., Wang, P., Sturm, B. W., & Wu, Y. (2018). How preschool children think about libraries: Evidence from six children’s libraries in China. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 0961000618818887.
Children have a say in what they want and how they want their issues resolved. Xu et al. (2018) understand this concept and use it as a basis through which to conduct their study. This research focuses on the ability of children to give feedback following the use of library services. Children observe the library as a part of society close to home. They enjoy spending time in it and occasionally have critical questions on the environment. The results of the study indicate that children are aware of what is going on. They are in a better place of manipulating and requesting things that work for them, including the environment within the library.
Zervas, M., Stavrou, C., & Kounoudes, A. (2019). The Important Role of School Libraries in the Development of Students Information Literacy Skills. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 113-133.
The use of library services is not only limited to the young. It is a skill that is gradually trained and improvised for future usage. Zervas et al. (2019), acknowledge this fact and come up with a study that explains the bridging problem in the transition. Issues such as the knowledge of media tools and the internet are crucial in this study. This then forms an integral part of the study as the contemporary library makes use of information technology; therefore, the need for constant orientation and practice. Zervas et al. (2019), outlines that when this is achieved, the learner is more likely to achieve academic excellence and higher literacy levels than those who lack the skills.
Analysis of Study Findings
The library is an important asset in the community. It benefits the young and the old alike. Regardless of this significance, only a few people make the full use of these resources. This is because of a number of associated problems. Smith (2018) identifies poor arrangement, Zervas et al. (2019) identify the incorporation of information technology in the use of libraries, the need for a different arrangement of the library than home (Smith, 2018).
Further, Sinnasamy and Karim (2016), outline “insufficient resources, language, retrieval, lack of library skills, technology, network, environment and services, computer and physical comfort, and emotional barriers” as core barriers to gaining literacy in the libraries. The results from this study give different alternatives to be used by governing bodies and policymakers in coming up with strategies that not only encourage using the library but promoting comfort and knowledge retention. The strategies offered include; better spacing and arrangement (Smith, 2018), developing of reading culture (Alex-Nmecha & Horsfall, 2019), encouraging independent decision-making (Nelson, 2017), allowing better and positive feedback from the users (Xu et al., 2018), eliminating anxiety caused by differences in culture and language (Sinnasamy & Karim, 2016) among other essential strategies. What is critical is in identifying the issues that the group is facing and turning these into solutions through effective planning and strategy formulation.
Gaps in the Past Studies Lending Room to Present Research and Analysis
These studies address the importance of libraries, the significance of using them among children, and the ways of motivating children to use library resources. They, however, fail to address issues surrounding the general illiterate population. Some of the issues identified are the same ones that could be applied to the illiterate and elderly community that, in turn, increase better and more library usage among these populations.
Method
The specific study would like to make an observation on schools from across ten schools across an extensive geographical coverage. In this study, the different roles of the library, library staff, and their attitude, the hours put in the library study will be analyzed. An analysis of the students and the elderly response to the environment and the staff that serves them in the library will be observed to monitor repetition and alternate implications. Descriptive studies will take the form of analysis of past work, then using these to infer to critical findings of the study. The other technique used in the study is a survey method for data collection.
Participants – ten studies will be analyzed to make inferences to the present study. In addition, ten libraries (nine school facilities and one public library will be observed to establish findings to the research question.) The number of participants varies as each library has a different number of staff and offers different services for its members. It is, however, anticipated that from each facility, no less than ten participants would be investigated.
Instruments/survey designs Survey questions used will be open-ended questions to allow the researcher to capture opinions, attitudes, and reactions on the systems used at the institution to which they belong. The instruments for data collection will be through observation and questionnaires. The questionnaires will have ten critical questions addressing present library conditions and the impact these have on knowledge retention and interest in reading among the members of the library. They will also address the potential modifications that the staff feels can be critical in developing reading skills and interest among the library members.
The procedure, the first step in this study, is to identify the study populations, I will then conduct a preliminary survey to ensure the viability and relevance of the study population. This will then be followed by the distribution of the questionnaires. Collection of samples will follow, data analysis and inferencing of findings will conclude the study process.
Conclusion
There is a need to address the use of libraries among varying populations, including children, the elderly, the illiterate, and people whose English is a second language. The basis of this lies in the significance of the use of libraries and the importance of literacy to the personal, social, and economic development of the individual. This study will identify the needs of each group and seek to address each. The anticipated limitations of the study are the need to cover a larger area with limited time for the study. This study calls for an extended study to cover the entire population. It would imply using a longer time and more resources, thereby limiting the study. The mode of addressing these issues is through identifying motivators when answering the hypothesis of the study.
References
Alex-Nmecha, J. C., & Horsfall, M. N. (2019). Reading Culture, Benefits, and the Role of libraries in the 21st century. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1.
Berkeley, O. (2017). Booking It: Reading Behavior In The Literate Lives Of Middle Schoolers.
Kflu, T., & Loomba, M. A. (2019). Academic libraries and the culturally diverse student population. College & Research Libraries News, 51(6), 524-527.
Mersand, S., Gasco-Hernandez, M., Udoh, E., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2019, January). Public libraries as anchor institutions in smart communities: Current practices and future development. In Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Nelson, J. T. (2017). Play, The Library, and Every Child Ready to Read 2. Children and Libraries, 15(3), 37-38.
Peng, Y. P., (2019). A competency model of children’s librarians in public libraries. The Library Quarterly, 89(2), 99-115.
Sinnasamy, J., & Karim, N. H. A. (2016). Library anxiety among non-native speakers of English: A reappraisal. Information Development, 32(5), 1621-1630.
Smith, H. V. (2018). Cooking the books: what counts as literacy for young children in a public library?. Literacy, 52(1), 31-38.
Xu, J., Wang, P., Sturm, B. W., & Wu, Y. (2018). How preschool children think about libraries: Evidence from six children’s libraries in China. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 0961000618818887.
Zervas, M., Stavrou, C., & Kounoudes, A. (2019). The Important Role of School Libraries in the Development of Students Information Literacy Skills. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 113-133.
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