Immigrants and book clubs

I thought that this article on immigrant readers (particularly in the context of book clubs) raised some interesting ideas for those of us working (or hoping to work) in communities with immigrant populations. As with any specific population, immigrants have particular needs, and there are particular ways of addressing those needs that may be more or less helpful to the population.

It is first important to recognize that "immigrants" are not a monolithic group. The article points out that immigrants can be seen as falling into two broad groups -- "newcomers" and "old-timers" -- and that these subgroups have quite different needs:

Technically, old-timers can be considered immigrants, but they are a distinctive category with different needs and goals who, by extension, require a different approach and services from public libraries. They are past "the most tumultuous period of language learning and career re-establishment"; and hopefully their lives have acquired "a more stable routine" that allows them to return to habitual leisure reading (Dali 216). Hence, their expectations of public library services can be much closer to those of native-born Canadians and Americans. They may still be looking for good reads in their native languages and might also become interested in something more. This "more" may very well reflect a desire to reach out to English-speaking readers who like the same books. While old-timers may no longer belong in book clubs for newcomers, they may still be apprehensive of joining book clubs for native English speakers.

This was a useful statement for me because I hadn't really thought of things in this way before. I was aware that immigrants who had been in the country longer would probably have very different needs from new immigrants, but I had tended to lump the former group in with the general population in terms of their needs. Upon reflection, it makes sense that even well-assimilated immigrants would probably continue to have somewhat different needs than the native-born -- that they would probably seek a continued feeling of connection with their home country, for instance.

The article also points out that there can be a wide range of literacy levels among immigrants. This can definitely impact service provision. For instance, an English learners' class that assumes a higher or lower level of general literacy than most of its participants have may not be effective. In the context of book groups, with which the article is particularly concerned, such groups (which can provide important opportunities for socializing and assimilation) may not be appropriate for immigrants who struggle to read; they may need basic literacy education first. (Alternatively, a book group targeted specifically at immigrants with lower literacy levels could be set up.)

The article also notes that even fluent English speakers may still want to read in their own language, but that that doesn't mean they would be unwilling to discuss books in English. For librarians looking to help connect immigrant and non-immigrant populations in their communities through book groups, one good suggestion would then be to allow people to read a book in any language, then hold discussion in English. As the article points out, this requires a bit more care in selecting readings -- they must be available not only in English, but in the primary language(s) spoken by the local immigrant community. (As an English major, I also fear that doing this would eliminate groups' ability to discuss the style of the book and the meaning of specific phrases, though those topics are perhaps of greater interest to academics than casual reading groups -- but that added difficulty would be more than compensated for by the opportunities to allow immigrants and non-immigrants to connect with each other.)

The article closes with a few suggested ways to engage immigrant readers in book clubs. One good and fairly easy suggestion is to make sure that immigrants know that book clubs are for them by creating promotional materials in multiple languages that say that people who have read the book in translation may join. (To go further, I would suggest acquiring copies of the work in translation as well as in English, if the library gathers copies specifically to lend to group members before the group, and advertising the availability of these translated copies.) The article also suggests conducting outreach through ethnic organizations, an idea that I really like. Outreach pertaining to book groups can be folded into a broader program of outreach to these organizations that advertises all of the things the library can do for their members.

This was a particularly interesting article for me since I'm under consideration for a position in a library that serves a substantial immigrant population, and I've been thinking about ways I could reach out to that population if I were hired. Although it's short, I think that it offers some good jumping off points and basic ideas for creating a book group experience that is attractive to immigrants, particularly "old-timers."

Well hello there.

(note: this post was actually written about a week ago and didn't actually make it to the site until now... oopsie.)

It's been a while, hasn't it. My goal is to post here at least once per week, but I confess that between doing all the work for my last month of school ever and trying to get a job at the same time, I haven't had a lot of time for much else. Now that I'm done with school, hopefully I will get going on this blog again.

Yes. I said it. I am done with school. This is an odd sensation after 20+ continuous years of being a student, and I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. The next step is to find full-time employment. I'm sure you will be hearing about that in future.

I suppose I've still got one school-related commitment (other than going to graduation!) -- this Saturday is the last ALA Book Club I'll be running. We're holding it at a local restaurant and it looks like turnout will be pretty good. The book we're reading is interesting. It's called The Design of Everyday Things; it's basically about how designers should consider how people might make errors in using an artifact, and design accordingly to make use easy. It seems like a straightforward principle, but I think everyone can think of times when "good aesthetics" have actually made something less usable. The book itself is actually more psychology than design. It's a fun little throwback to my college days, when I was almost a psychology minor. Since the book was published in the 1980s the science is slightly out of date, but only slightly. (For instance, the author says that neural network and schema theories are still not widely accepted, and I'm fairly sure that by now they are well-acknowledged in the scientific community.)

It's interesting trying to come up with discussion questions for a nonfiction book. I haven't Googled yet, but I think it's fairly likely that no one will have discussion questions for this book online. That puts me somewhat on my own. But I think I'll do okay -- hopefully people will just be talkative!

Readers' advisory for a "bad" book?

(I have been suffering from pretty severe writer's block (blogger's block?) recently -- my apologies for my absence.)


Opening a new book by an unfamiliar author is always exciting to me. Usually by the time I begin a book I know a little about the story it will tell, but how that story will be told is still a mystery. I love getting to know a new author and learning how he or she speaks to me -- his/her style, vocabulary, and all the little idiosyncratic quirks that make an author's works truly individual and that will make me feel as though I'm coming back to a wonderful, familiar place should I ever read another work by the same person. Unfortunately, sometimes the experience is not as enjoyable as could be hoped.

The book selected for an upcoming ALA Student Chapter Book Club is Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. I'm organizing the book club, so I need to come up with some good questions. I'm also trying to think about it from the perspective of a readers' advisor, seeing if I can think of elements of the book that might appeal to some readers. (I try to do this with most books that I read these days; I think I could use the practice.)

The problem is that I found this book to be... let's say extremely disappointing (I hesitate to ever call a book "bad," since I consider evaluations of a book's "goodness" to be situational and individual). I don't know whether it's more unfair to say I really didn't enjoy it and not explain why, or to go into a long discussion of all the things I didn't like, so I'll try to hit middle ground with a brief summary of my major comments:

1) Show, don't tell is violated over, and over, and over again. Sometimes authors do this because it's truly difficult to show what they want us to know. But almost everything we're told in this novel could easily have been shown.

2) Character development occurs largely either a) out of our view, in the long gaps (years!) between chapters -- all of a sudden we come back into these people's lives and are told (not shown) that they've changed -- or b) in sudden, revelatory moments where a character dramatically changes in a paragraph, with no buildup or background that helps us understand what about this moment has sparked the change or why.

3) Largely as a result of the two points above, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. This was a shame because the story itself could have been interesting -- but the story's impact really rested on the reader's ability to empathize with and care about the characters, particularly the two sisters at the center of the novel.

The problem I now face is: How do I lead this book discussion, and how do I attempt readers' advisory, for this book which I really did not enjoy?

The first part of this question is actually not as much of an issue. I got plenty of experience leading (academic) book discussions in the course of obtaining my degrees in English literature. I know how to put aside my feelings for a book long enough to ask a question that isn't blatantly leading in one direction or another. (I'm more concerned about whether I'll be able to restrain my own urges to dissect the book enough to avoid overwhelming the discussion, but I had a similar worry last time and I did fine.)

However, the second part of the question is presenting a real dilemma for me. I have tried to be a good readers' advisor and think of things that people might like about this book. But my own negative feelings about it keep getting in the way. I honestly do not see how anyone could like this novel, though I know there must be people out there who do. I have come up with exactly two reasons why people might like it (for the dramatic events of the plot, for the historical setting) and even one of those is strongly tempered (the plot is one dramatic thing after another; it feels like a soap opera -- though I suppose there are people who would not have a problem with that). I'm hoping that at least one person who comes to the book discussion will have enjoyed the novel, and that I can pick their brain a little about why they did.

As a readers' advisor I believe, with Ranganathan, in "every book its reader." I believe that I should help readers find and select this book, if they would really like it. I find it strange that I am so happy to help people find books they want to read that might be considered "trash"* by those who like to consider themselves the intellectual and/or literary elite, but that I simply cannot imagine bringing myself to recommend this novel to anyone.

How does one, as a readers' advisor, recommend books that one profoundly dislikes to people who might enjoy them? Do you just not recommend those books at all? Do you consult colleagues for their input? Do you candidly admit "This wasn't really my thing, but it sounds like the kind of book that you might love"?

Thoughts?


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* Please note "might be considered 'trash'". I love a good "trashy" book and don't believe that genre or other nonliterary writing is inferior -- just different (often in a good way!).

Book clubs!

Last Monday, the ALA student chapter at my school (in which I am an officer) held its first book club meeting. The book we selected was In Cold Blood ("Read Something" readers' advisory summary will hopefully be forthcoming at some point; I am slowly working my way through the book for a second time, and it is a little tricky to fit in "fun" reading time around academics, work, internship, and significant other). I thought it was a mostly absorbing and rather disturbing read, and was excited to get the chance to discuss it. I haven't sat down with other people specifically to talk about a book since I was an English major/Master's student, and I've been missing doing that.

But I was also a little nervous. I had never run a "casual" book discussion group (though I have experience leading in-class academic book discussions); neither had the officer who was co-leading the group with me. I wasn't sure if some of my questions and ideas were too academic for this setting. I wasn't sure if the other attendees would find the questions I had made up and found online interesting. What if no one talked? What if no one came?

As it turned out, I shouldn't have worried so much! We had a small turnout but a very engaging discussion that lasted about 45 minutes. I think everyone had a good time. And when we were winding down they insisted that we make sure we'd gone through all of my questions! (That was pretty flattering.) After a couple of minutes I was able to relax and just let things flow. In the end it was not all that different from leading an academic book discussion -- we talked about the book more broadly, and with less reference to specific passages, than we would have in a seminar, but otherwise it felt pretty much the same. And it was a joy to be doing this kind of thing again after a year and a half break. I hadn't realized just how much I had missed it. I think that we will try to do another book club this semester, and I'm already excited for it!

This was also a good experience for me at this point in time because I have applied for a job that includes book group leadership among its duties (and I'm sure I'll find other positions with that responsibility as well). Should I get interviewed (*crossing fingers*), it will be good to be able to say that I have some experience leading casual book discussions, even if it's only one or two events. Helping to lead this book group has also confirmed that I enjoy doing so -- not exactly a surprise, given my background! -- which makes me think that I should improve my skills and knowledge in this area. That way I can be even more qualified for leading book groups, which will increase my changes of getting to do it in the future! So if anyone reading this happens to know of a good resource (book, website, or otherwise) for book group facilitators, please drop me a note in the comments to let me know.