15 experts offer insight into reader development and practical guidance for librarians

New York, NY (August 26, 2008)—Readers have a profound influence on libraries, but do librarians understand what readers want, or how to reach them effectively? Reader Development in Practice: Bringing Literature to Readers explores the link between author and reader, the extent to which readers influence what librarians choose to buy and how the relationship has changed since the birth of reader development.

Divided into five sections and thirteen chapters, Reader Development in Practice is a user-friendly guide to an important topic. Bringing together the work of a range of expert practitioners and academics, the collection effectively links together a diverse and extensive range of knowledge, using specific introductions to each section and contextual prefaces for each chapter as organizational guides. “We see the book … as a mosaic,” say editors Susan Hornby and Bob Glass. “Each of the sections can stand alone but read together they form a complete picture.”

(Visit www.neal-schuman.com to view biographies of each contributor, as well as the editors’ introduction and a complete table of contents).

Reader Development in Practice takes both a theoretical and practical approach to presenting key topics, beginning with promotions, partnerships and the central role that reader development activities have come to play inside the library. The discussion covers imaginative literature for adults and children, the reorganization of information through hypertext, the development of futuristic fiction as a new genre in children’s literature and a reflective guide to making poetry accessible and enjoyable. Reader Development in Practice concludes with chapters on electronic publishing and the increasingly crucial relationship between reading and information technology, including essays on the future of traditional book communities and survival strategies for independent booksellers. The afterword – from a devoted bookworm offers a helpful guide to successfully selecting the right book group.

A comprehensive look at all aspects of literature in relation to readership, Reader Development in Practice is essential reading that offers professionals, researchers and students fresh ideas, practical guidance and a fundamental knowledge base upon which to build.

Reader Development in Practice:Bringing Literature to Readers
ISBN 978-1-85604-624-4.
2008. 6 x 9. 224 pp. $125.00.

About the Editors
Susan Hornby is Senior Lecturer and Program Leader for the MA Library Information Management and MSc Information Management courses at the Department of Information and Communications, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Bob Glass is Undergraduate Program Leader at the Department of Information and Communications, Learning Area Coordinator (Information Literacy) for the LearnHigher Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

About Neal-Schuman Publishers and Facet Publishing
Facet Publishing titles are exclusively available in the United States through Neal-Schuman Publishers, a leading provider of library management, Internet, and information technology resources. Facet is the imprint of the prestigious Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (formerly the British Library Association). Founded in 1976, Neal-Schuman Publishers is based in New York City with offices in London, UK.

For More Information
Contact Sarah Eisenberg
sarah.eisenberg@neal-schuman.com