Focus on America

Love of Books Survives in an Electronic Age

It probably never was the dream of Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust, to be the model for a “shushing” librarian action figure. Yet the bespectacled Pearl is not unpleased.

“The people who perform miracles every day in people’s lives are librarians,” says Pearl.

The celebrity librarian developed an early love of reading books because she spent much of her unhappy childhood and adolescence in Detroit in the local library. “I learned very early that being home was not a safe place to be,” Pearl said in an October 16 USINFO Webchat at the Frankfurt, Germany, city library.

“It was the early librarians, Miss Long and Miss Whitehead, who gave me the gift of books and reading. And it was because of them that I became a librarian,” said Pearl, who says she continues to read to “escape.” Whether it is to escape into the past by reading a historical novel or into the future by reading fantasy or science fiction, Pearl finds time every day to bury her head in a book.

It is important that readers be able to find themselves, or versions of themselves, in books on the library shelves, Pearl said. “It’s a slow process, one book at a time and one person at a time,” she said, “but well worth it.” Even in countries where survival is the challenge that takes 99 percent of the day’s energy, Pearl said she hopes reading books will give people pleasure by helping them escape from the world in which they live.

Because of ready access to information and information technology and increasing digitization of reading material, librarians play an important role by using the library as a place to promote discussion about books, current events and history, Pearl said. She encourages librarians to do more readers’ advisory (RA) work by opening a dialogue with library users.

Information access is vitally important, but it is only part of what a library does, Pearl said. The library is a place where people come to find a good book to read.

“More programs, book discussions, poetry readings, political discussions -- all those can bring people into the library,” Pearl said.

Librarians need to have a genuine fondness for people and have a strong sense of public purpose to be successful, Pearl said. Especially with teenagers, Pearl suggests that librarians spend time finding books that meet the interests of young readers, including books on hip-hop, sports, dinosaurs and computer games. She encouraged librarians in public libraries and university libraries to sponsor book discussion groups among staff and patrons.

“Book discussion groups for these students would be quite useful and fun,” Pearl said.

One way to deal with the lack of reading time at home is to make reading a part of family time, added Pearl. She recommends setting aside 30 minutes a day for the whole family to read together, either by picking one book to read aloud or by everyone reading a different book and then talking to the others about it.

Pearl’s Book Lust, Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason was published in 2003 and was followed in 2005 by More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment and Reason. Pearl is the recipient of the Women’s National Book Association Award and the Louis Shores Greenwood Publishing Group Award for excellence in the reviewing of books and other materials for libraries. She is also the author of Book Crush for Kids and Teens: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Interest.