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A recent research project examined partnerships between booksellers, publishers, library suppliers and librarians that were being used to promote books and reading. The full project report, Partnership in Promotion, contains an extensive literature review, referring to over 70 items – journal articles, books, conference proceedings, manuals and news items – as well as a range of organizations and resources in the field of reading promotion. In this article, the seminal texts of the last ten years (1992‐2001) are reviewed in order to highlight the rise of reader development and the growing partnership working among sectors of the book industry. The purpose of the article is to draw together the principal texts in this largely uncharted area in order to provide practitioners with a concise and reliable guide to developments of the last decade.

This paper aims to describe the effects of the Dutch policy program the Library at School on primary school pupils’ leisure book reading and attitude towards reading books, in the first year of the nationwide implementation of the program.Design/methodology/approach – In monitoring the effectiveness of the Library at School, online questionnaires were administered to students (grades 2‐6), teachers and reading‐media consultants. The study is based on data collected in the school year 2011‐2012 from a sample of 4,682 students from 229 classes, with 284 teachers of 68 schools.

Multilevel regression analyses show that effects of the Library at School on reading attitude and leisure reading cannot yet be discerned in 2011‐2012, although slightly positive univariate effects are found.

As yet, the number of participating schools is limited, hence statistical power is low on that level. Whether the sample can be considered representative for all Dutch primary schools is not certain.

The findings suggest that a school library in itself is not sufficient to promote book reading in leisure time. The role of the reading‐media consultant in facilitating both teachers and learners might have to be strengthened.

This study gives a first glimpse at the effects of the program the Library at School on the reading attitude and leisure reading of primary school students in The Netherlands. The continuous monitoring approach employed is new and can be helpful for similar policy programs in other countries.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a study investigating the reading of, and engagement with minority ethnic fiction in UK public libraries, with a particular focus on Black British fiction and Asian fiction in English.

A quantitative study of the reading behaviour of a large population of public library users (n=1,047) from the East Midlands region. A survey was distributed at issue points in 16 libraries in nine participating local authorities, to investigate respondents' reading choices, and factors that may affect these choices.

Findings have emerged regarding the readers and non‐readers of Black British and Asian fiction in English. Social identity theory and reader response theory, whilst initially appearing contradictory, are helpful in understanding patterns of reading behaviour.

The paper provides a valuable starting point for future research in materials portraying, and originating from, minority ethnic communities.

The paper identifies areas in which public libraries, publishing houses and minority ethnic community groups can improve the provision and promotion of minority ethnic fiction.

It is hoped that longer‐term effects will be to increase the involvement of members of all communities in the selection and promotion of culturally appropriate materials.

The paper addresses a gap in previous research and practice, whereby the provision of multicultural resources was always considered only in linguistic, rather than in broader cultural terms, the latter felt to be more appropriate to contemporary society.

This study aims to explore the influence of information presentation conditions on the flow experience of digital reading for high school students.

Firstly, a survey determines the preferred reading medium and the types of texts that high school students frequently read. Secondly, Experiment 1 focuses on the effects of the text type and reading medium on flow experience and reading comprehension. Finally, Experiment 2 addresses a narrative text presented on a smartphone, and discusses the influence of advance organizer, presentation format and page layout on flow experience and reading comprehension.

In digital reading, the narrative text has a stronger flow experience than explanatory text; the flow experience of reading narration on smartphones is more evident than on computers. The advance organizer and text combined with pictures are more conducive to a flow experience when a smartphone is used as a reading medium. From the perspective of reading comprehension, scrolling is more suitable for reading text combined with pictures and paging best suits pure text.

Through experimental methods, this study reveals the influence of information presentation conditions on the digital reading flow experience, which is a meaningful and innovative topic. The findings can provide more enlightenment and reference for the design and promotion of digital resources and digital reading by teenagers.

This study aims to examine the perception and preference of parents for their children using mobile devices to read. The pros and cons of electronic books and print books are examined from the parents' perspective.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parents in Hong Kong, who have children in primary and secondary schools. Their opinions were summarized into common themes to explore their choice of books for children in terms of format and content.

The findings indicated that most parents and schools still prefer print books unless required by schools. However, the e-book has played an essential role under the current COVID-19 pandemic and digital literacy development.

Scant studies focus on parents' views on their choice of book formats for children, especially for East Asian metropolises. The findings are useful for schools, teachers and publishers to explore publication and collection, as well as market development in digital reading resources.

Addressed to the audience of LIS educators at all levels, from full-time and adjunct faculty teaching in LIS programs, to librarians and library consultants delivering professional development training, to practitioners who work with readers in all types of libraries, this article makes a case for replacing the term “readers' advisory” with the term “Reading Experience (RE) librarianship” as a designator of the current professional practice.

Using historical and discursive analysis based on the extensive literature review, this article argues that a number of factors call for the change in terminology: changes in the human factor (i.e., changes in readers and reading behavior; and changes in relationships between readers and librarians) and changes in the library environment (the rise of “experience” in libraries; a greater commitment to outreach and community engagement; and the fact that librarians are already practicing RE librarianship without recognizing it as such). It also examines the role of LIS educators in fostering and supporting RE librarianship.

On the one hand, the new terminology will be more reflective of the work that reader service librarians currently do, thus doing justice to a wide range of activities and expanded roles of librarians; on the other hand, it will serve as an imperative and a motivator to further transform reader services from in-house interactions with and programs for avid readers into a true community engagement, with much broader goals, scope and reach.

The article stands to coin a new professional term for the transformed library practice, thus recording a radical change in longstanding professional activities and encouraging new community-oriented thinking about the expanded role of librarians in promoting reading in diverse social environments.

Using the public library context, this paper seeks to present research identifying perceived characteristics of fiction readers and their associated genres, with a particular emphasis on the reader of Black British and Asian fiction in the English language.

The paper applies personal construct theory and the associated repertory grid to a mixed method study involving 15 repertory grid interviews, conducted with librarianship Master's students at a UK university.

The findings regarding the perceived profile of the reader were similar to those reported in previous sociological research, but new constructs emerged regarding certain perceived characteristics of both readers and genres.

The method and findings provide a starting‐point for future research in materials portraying, and originating from, minority ethnic communities. With more repeated constructs and a larger sample size, future research could statistically investigate the significance of potential trends and apparent relationships between data.

The paper provides new data regarding the nature and readership of minority ethnic fiction, informing the improvement of its provision and promotion by public libraries.

It is hoped that longer‐term effects will be to increase both public and professional understanding of fiction written by members of minority ethnic communities, and of its potential contribution to the wider body of literature in the English language.

The paper applies personal construct theory and the associated repertory grid technique to a new area of research and practice, with new data having been generated concerning the perceived characteristics of fiction genres, and of their readers.

Changing times call for a reading policy which should be high on the list of priorities of academic libraries. This paper aims to probe the reading behavioural patterns and perception of the students of the Ionian University.

An empirical study was conducted from April to June 2007, through the development of a structured questionnaire equally distributed to a stratified sample of 335 undergraduate students from all the departments of the Ionian University.

The undergraduate students of the Ionian University show reading behaviours that are different from the general population. Academic libraries can form specific policies regarding the reading habits and behaviour of the undergraduate students in terms of compulsory reading and leisure reading.

Effective and creative planning of reading policy in academic libraries should be based on students' reading behavioural patterns.

Results for the reading patterns for students of academic institutions in Greece have not been available in the past. Availability of such results documented in this paper may provide a starting‐point for the development of academic libraries' reading policy concerning the reading behaviour of students.