On a chapter by chapter basis, contributors provide incites into literary reader development. The book is divided into four sections: Section one – Foreword: the author as reader, Section two – Reader development: promotions and partnerships, Section three – Works of imagination, and Section four – Future directions.
Ann Cleeves provides a look inside her world as a writer. When she writes a book Ann goes through processes of considerations for what she thinks are readers desires and processes of consideration for what she thinks is her publisher's desires. Ann Cleeves thinks these processes of consideration can extend further, noting “… librarians and publishers should make more effort to understand the others role”.
Relevant questions arise about financing projects. Can we get a grant? Can we get additional grant money?
Librarians are seen extending the processes of collaboration with each other, and of significant importance, extending the processes of collaboration with community leaders’, and their readership communities. Such is the case with animate project. As Ann Sherman informs us, The Animate project was a cross‐service partnership between Cheshire Arts, Libraries, Education Social Services, with external funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
The numerous programs described in chapter two are exploratory of partnerships and promotions beginning with Rachel van Riel – Opening the Book 1996, followed by Time to Read (TTR), National Year of Read, Literary magazine, The Big Gay Read, Books out of Universities and more. Each program represents efforts of bringing literature to the reader not in terms of libraries competing against each other but in terms of libraries delivering best practices in librarianship for reader development. These librarians lay paths for other librarians to follow or expand on with programs promoting poetry, readers days, which Jane Mathieson describes as mini‐festivals which readers have the chance to learn and meet a number of writers as fellow reading enthusiasts.
Social inclusion as opposed to exclusion are major focal points, as well is diversity.
While contributors of this book agree on partnerships, on going it seems, is the search for a consensus on internet reader development, mainly because the future is not written for us, there is research to do, and the internet changes; sometimes meeting the needs of its readers but not always. Hence, e‐books attempted to capture readers’ attention and, to a degree succeeded with academia and technical books. However, in the area of reader development for imaginative literature, there is some regression of the e‐book. Perhaps cost, perhaps an inability to completely fulfill the readers desires for the physicality of the book – the readers desires to physically hold their books, these factors perhaps resulted in the regression of reader development with e‐books.
Although hypertext books offers the reader a break from a linear style of reading with linking within their web pages, the reader is not exactly armored by the concept. There is more to be done in this area. But technology is not failing the reader. Contributor Claire Warwick puts emphasis on technologies influence on the reader in areas such as Google Book Search, Print on demand and Amazon. Yes, shortcomings exists in each of these areas as Warwick points out, Google Book Search has restrictions on printing, depending on the area of Print on demand a lack of quality control exists, and the reader can not see Amazon's entire inventory of books, but usage exists in all of these areas.
Many small bookstores struggle for survival. With organizations like NHS's increased usage of the internet for their selection of books, and with less of a dependence on small book stores recommendations for book selections, small book stores survival is somewhat dependent on their own creativity, selection, signage, and placement of books within their stores.
Are small bookstores going to partner with book club readers? Is the book club a target market? Those are questions small bookstores will answer. Challenges exist in identifying book clubs readers. The book club reader is willing to take time away from their family, willing in some cases to travel a distance all for the enjoyment and discussion of a book. While the experience is partly social, attempts to focus on the book are priorities. In instances when a club becomes to social and less read, readers shift and integrate into other reading groups with heavier focuses on reading.
Readers are in many cases assessing and rating what they read. Asking themselves: Would you recommend this book to someone else and why? And “Chocolate too” though an exercise, is a positive reminder of challenges of the visually impaired in their book selection processes.
Where lays the future of reader development? The book is not going away, and authors are not going away, nor it seems are computers nor the internet going away, so the future of reader development is in continued and extend partnerships to strengthen and improve marketing and to bring the best programs to readers. Whether using imaginative works in hypertexts or e‐books, communication processes and partnerships have to continue with all parties involved in the writing and reader development processes or at least the thought processes of what one another's roles. Such partnerships can allow input and programming in all facets of writing from poetry to the direction fiction takes in its delivery to youth.
