Session 4: Creating a reading-rich culture

Introduction

Encouraging students to enjoy reading is central to you and your library’s role. Ultimately, the challenge is to create a whole-school mindset where reading is embraced by both staff and students as a rewarding part of their daily lives. To achieve this, as well as procuring and promoting resources, you will need to consider how to tackle negative reading habits and bring about attitudinal change. Through devising and implementing creative and practical strategies, you can then influence students’ perceptions so that books, reading and the library are seen in a positive light. It is this positive mindset upon which a reading-rich culture is built.

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

• appreciate the importance of reading for pleasure
• adopt a range of strategies which help promote reading
• understand how to elevate reading to a special status.