Characteristics, preferences and motivation of avid non-fiction readers
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-05-2017-0019 |
| Published date | 03 April 2018 |
| Pages | 50-59 |
| Date | 03 April 2018 |
| Author | Margaret Kristin Merga,Saiyidi Mat Roni |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Collection building & management |
Characteristics, preferences and motivation of
avid non-fiction readers
Margaret Kristin Merga
School of Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia, and
Saiyidi Mat Roni
School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to provide insights into the characteristics of avid non-fiction book readers, exploring their typic al demographic
characteristics in relation to reading volume and frequency. It also investigates their comparative library usage in relation to avid fiction readers, as
well as their motivation to read, and barriers to reading. Findings from the subset of self-identified avid non-fiction reade rs from the 2015
International Study of Avid Book Readers are interrogated to provide insights into this under-researched group.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors have used a single-stage mixed-methods approach, using data from both qualitati ve and
quantitative items in an international survey.
Findings –The quantitative data analysis of this study suggests that avid non-fiction book readers were more likely to be men and older than avid
fiction readers, and that they also tended to read less frequently, though avid non-fiction readers tended to read a greate r volume of books. Avid
fiction readers reported greater library usage, and thus unsurprisingly were found to have a greater borrowing tendency than non-fiction rea ders.
Our qualitative findings around reading motivation identified a range of recurrent themes. The authors also found three key barrie rs to reading:
time, book access and concentration.
Originality/value –The findings of this study provide unique insights into the characteristics, preferences and motivation of avid non-fiction
readers, with the relationship between pleasure and the reading of non-fiction of particular interest.
Keywords Mixed-methods, Non-fiction, Borrower characteristics, Borrower motivation, Borrower preferences
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Amongst the wide range of functions performed by a
contemporary publiclibrary, provision of quality books to meet
the needs of avid readers remains an important role. Public
libraries have long been acknowledged as repositories of
knowledge, supplying free accessto quality non-fiction reading
materials. Kelly(2015) argued that public libraries:
[...]are at once repositories for the accumulation and sanctification of types
of knowledge that drive civic progress, while offering a value-free,
encyclopedic approach to knowledge that does not explicitly privilege
science, humanism or any particular epistemological creed (p. 2).
Within the non-fiction genre, this knowledge can be imparted
through a diverse array of subgenres to meet a wide range of
reader interests, as “the world of non-fiction is huge”(Wyatt,
2007, p. 1).
In the age of the internet, information can be easily sourced
in a readily digestible format, which could have an impact on
non-fiction reading and subsequently the non-fiction
readership in libraries. However, this impact resists immediate
generalisation; the limited extant research on non-fiction
collection data in contemporary libraries suggests that both
non-fiction collection size and demand are highly variable
across different public libraries, and that “variation in
collection sizes and patterns of usage suggests that factors
affecting non-fiction collections are more complex than access
to alternative sources on the internet”(New South Wales
Public Library Services, 2016). Non-fiction may retain and
even increase its popularity and cultural relevance; Cords
(2006) suggested that “realism is currently dominating all
forms of media”(p. 18), and though this contention is
somewhat dated now, it is nonethelessstill relevant, with reality
television, documentaries and films based on historical events
retaining significantpopularity in popular culture.
The relative social acceptability of fiction and non-fiction
reading has long been reflective of sociocultural norms. Non-
fiction used to occupy a privileged position in a public library
collection, with Baker (1994, p. 65) describing “the early days
of the public library movement”,where:
[...] some librarians with elitist tendencies suggested, often vehemently,
that factual works –attempting as they do to discuss the reality, actuality, or
truth of a situation –were somehow better than fictitious works –the
imaginative, fanciful, or even “capricious”creations of an author.
As such, reading of fiction is considered as a waste of time, a
potentially harmful instillationof false views of reality, posing a
potential risk for impressionable readers, who were
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2514-9326.htm
Collection and Curation
37/2 (2018) 50–59
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-05-2017-0019]
Received 15 May 2017
Revised 30 July 2017
Accepted 28 August 2017
50
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