Introduction

This chapter will outline some of the challenges faced by school librarians across all sectors when seeking to engage with reluctant and less-able readers. Three case studies will be presented; in each instance these can easily be adapted to meet pupil needs and can also be used to target less-engaged boys. The outcomes of the three case studies are supported by quantitative data and evidence derived from other research.

Impact of school libraries upon reading for pleasure

According to a study conducted in Canada (Howard, 2011), children and young people read for a variety of reasons. Eighty-five per cent reported that these included the following: to improve overall thinking and literacy skills, to better understand the world around them, to increase social consciousness and empathy, for empowerment, to be entertained, to escape their daily lives and problems, to relax and find reassurance. If these are obvious benefits in a stressful and increasingly shrinking world, one of the challenges facing school librarians is how to effectively engage with reluctant readers outside the classroom, those ‘hard-to-shift’ children and young people for whom reading is a negative and often bewildering experience.

As Nicola Morgan points out in a 2015 blog post, ‘school libraries … catch every child, from every sort of family. School librarians are trained to recognize every type of reader, identify reluctance or difficulties, inspire and boost, recommend likely catalyst books, and can create “initiatives” that work. They are a safety net when children have missed out on access to public libraries or when parental support is restricted.’ Morgan's language here, affirming that school librarians inspire and boost, that they create stimulating reading opportunities and provide a catalyst for meaningful reader development, underpins how we all feel: this is what we can do; moreover, what we ought to be doing and are passionate about. But how to get the neediest and, possibly, the least willing pupils through the door? How do we break down barriers to reading for pleasure; how can we engage more boys with reading outside the classroom and eradicate the often-expressed view by older pupils that being seen in the school library is ‘social suicide’?