Category Archives: Literacy

Books, Literacy

Choosing your next read

An earlier blog post (November 2022), Choosing to Read (for Pleasure), addressed the benefits of reading for pleasure and noted resources for choosing a book to read and where to find “the best” book lists published each year.

AI Assists

Still unsure what to read during inter-session? Why not let artificial intelligence (AI) help you decide? There are several AI tools that can help you, each with a unique approach. For example:

  • Tell Findyournextbook the type of book you want to read and this AI-powered librarian will help you.
  • Hardcover’s AskJules is a book discovery companion. It can help you find your next book or answer book-related questions.
  • Muzify will generate a music playlist based on your favorite book or author.
  • Enter the name of a books you like and Readow will create a reading list of recommendations that match your preferences,
  • If you remember something about a book but can’t think of its title or author, use Talpa to search. Imagine asking a search engine to “Help me find that book, you know, the one with the red cover” and it does!
  • Zapt will ask you to provide some examples of a book or books you like. You can specify book titles, authors, and genres. The more information you provide, the more accurate Zapt results are likely to be.

Finally, if you’re reading a book and don’t understand something, consider using ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode. There’s a great demo of how helpful this can be at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU2AYrBHq-w. Try it, and let us know what you think!

Books, Fun, Literacy

Assessing the Spring 2024 semester Reading for Pleasure (RfP) initiative from the LO Library

During the spring 2024 term, NOVA’s Loudoun campus library launched a Reading for Pleasure (RfP) pilot project. The project’s goal was to encourage students to read beyond what’s required for their studies. Its impetus was a YouGov poll that determined, “Just over half of all Americans said they read at least one book in 2023.”

The importance of reading

People derive multiple benefits from reading:

    • Increased writing proficiency and broadened vocabulary
    • Expanded general knowledge and better understanding of human and other cultures
    • Greater learning self-sufficiency.

At the close of 2023, your LO librarians brainstormed ways to encourage students to read beyond assigned reading for their courses. Our first experiment was a partnership with EBSCO, one of our e-book vendors.

Preparing for our RfP initiative

Julie Combs, our Emerging Technologies Librarian, created a carousel of book jackets that appeared on the NOVA Libraries homepage. Clicking on the carousel would drive students to a LibGuide Julie created for the initiative containing a link to the EBSCO e-book collection. Once authenticated, the user could search for additional titles in EBSCO’s e-book collection that appealed to them.

Through a series of marketing efforts, including a January 24, 2024 Daily Flyer article announcing the initiative, LO Library promoted the Reading for Pleasure project. Library instructors promoted the project during class sessions. Student Life helped us by posting QR codes around the Loudoun campus to draw attention to the initiative. While anyone could access these titles, this analysis is limited to Loudoun campus-based students.

Findings

Thirty-eight titles rotated in the Reading for Pleasure (RfP) carousel through the Spring 2024 semester. Total access for these titles, Spring 2024, was 36 (vs. 28 during the Fall 2023 semester when there were 470 more students enrolled for classes on the Loudoun campus). Several of the titles were not available during Spring 2023, so no year-over-year comparison can be made.

Nine titles were accessed between two and five times. Privacy issues limit our ability to determine whether these were unique individuals or the same individual accessing a title for multiple times. Nor can we determine whether users finished reading the book. A further anomaly is that one title, The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, had an unusually high number of reads (15) in the Spring 2023 semester vs. five during the Spring 2024 term. We cannot say for certain, but we suspect that the book contained a short story that was assigned reading for a course in Spring 2023 as this is an unusually high number of reads of a title within one semester. Total LO Campus usage of the EBSCO e-book collection increased by 5%, Spring 2024 vs. Spring 2023, even though the number of EBSCO e-books available decreased by 14% (1,687 in Spring 2024 vs. 1,954 titles in Spring 2023).

 

Books, Databases, Library Resources, Literacy

Choosing to read (for pleasure)

How will you use the extended break between the fall 2022 and the spring 2023 semesters? This time can be used productively, preparing for coursework next semester, or learning a new language (try the Mango Languages database. NOVA librarians recommend that you choose to read for pleasure.

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Why read for pleasure

Research  frequently explores the positive effects of reading for pleasure for children and adolescents; fewer studies address the emotional, social, and psychological benefits derived by adults who regularly choose to read for pleasure. Adults attribute increased vocabulary and general knowledge, better text comprehension, improved grammar and writing abilities, and greater self-confidence to their regular reading habits. Beyond this, research  shows that reading reduces stress and relaxes. It’s why many doctors encourage adults to turn off their screens and curl up with a book to feel calm, reduce depressive thoughts, and get a well-earned rest at the end of the day. Also, reading can increase your empathy for others around you.

What to read

Choosing what to read can be daunting, but there are places to turn that can assist you. During the fall of each year, various organizations announce the authors winning awards for their work, including:

  • The Nobel Prize for Literature is arguably the most prestigious of annual awards.  
  • The Booker Prize for the best novel published in English and published in the UK or Ireland is better known for the “shortlist” of books announced to be in contention for the annual award.
  • The National Book Foundation awards is the premier American prize recognizing literary excellence.

Various institutions use the possibility of gifting books at Christmastime to announce lists of the “best” books of the year. Each organization has its own way of selecting what’s “best” or otherwise limiting their choices by subject. For example:

  • Libraries rely on Publishers Weekly for announcements of publications they should include on their shelves. The publication compiles a list each year, so check out their list of the top 10 in each category (fiction, mystery/thriller, poetry, romance, SciFi/fantasy/horror, comics, nonfiction, religion, etc.).
  • Throughout the year, the New York Times publishes lists of the best-selling books of the week in their weekly Book Review section.  On November 29, the Times will announce their annual 10 Best Books in two categories (fiction and nonfiction) plus 100 Notable Books of 2022.
  • The Washington Post’s selection of the “top ten.”
  • Lifelong learning site Headway Media has a blog for books categorized in unusual ways: Best books for men to read, CEOs, Strategy books, self-improvement, building confidence. Surely one of the many lists will interest NOVA students.
  • The New Yorker
  • NPR (formerly known as National Public Radio) compiles lists of books by subject, including comics/graphic novels, art, history, music, sports, historical fiction, love stories, mysteries/thrillers, nonfiction, SciFi/fantasy, science, short stories/essays/poetry, young adult, and more. If you’re still undecided about what to read, the NPR book review team polls the organization’s staff for their recommendations. Surely, one title will be perfect for you!

The NOVA librarians use these lists to verify their selection of books acquired throughout the year, so you’ll find many of these titles on our shelves already. If you’re still uncertain, check with a Reference Librarian on your campus for advice!

Editor’s Note: For additional ideas about “best books” or “great reads,” check out last December’s blog, How to find a book to read. 

What books are you reading during inter-session?

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