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Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Discovering What Materials Students Want to Read

Elaine Shelburne

LI810XU
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Abstract

The goal of the proposal is to discover what materials that the high school students at Ben

Lomond H.S. want to see available to read in the Library Media Center. The main tool will be a

survey form given to all English classes that will give students an opportunity to note which

forms of reading material they would prefer, as well as their reading habits. Included will be

questions asking them how much they use the library. The materials will be purchased that

students request, based on appropriateness. The next school year, the survey will be given again

to determine whether the requested materials caused a difference in reading habits. The

anticipated results are that there will be an increase in the use of the library and that more

students will be rewarded with reading material they enjoy.

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Discovering What Material Students Want to Read

Ben Lomond High School is composed of students from a low socio-economic status,

overall, with a small percentage going on to college. Most of the students go to a technical

school or directly to a job, upon graduation from high school. To create life-long learners and

readers, no matter what their status in life, is a mission of the school. It is imperative therefore

that the school’s library collection is reflective of their reading interests. Since this is a unique

population compared to most of Utah, this study is gauged solely for this school and its needs.

To discover exactly what student reading habits and desires for library materials are, research

can be designed. The proposal is that a detailed survey to get to know this information, using a

sampling size of 180 students of a school enrollment of 950, would give a good picture of what

the reality is.

The problem statement is “What are the reading habits of the students and what do they

want to read?” The answers are unknown; research has never been done. The answers to

the question will be multiple, and the research will have to be detailed and perhaps repeated

with improvements every year. As the population changes, this will be most important, in

order for the library media center to remain a crucial, integral part of the school.

Literature Review and Reflective Inquiry

There are four studies that contributed to the research idea. The first was a study

described in Good School Libraries: making a difference to learning(2006) found that the “most

effective librarians ensured that the library contributed to meeting the school’s priorities for

improvement….[and] showed great initiative in promoting the library and enthusing pupils about

reading.” There are a number of strengths and weaknesses that the study found in schools and
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their relationship to their school libraries; many of these pointed to systematic programs for

teaching library skills and collaboration between teachers and the library teacher, which this

paper is not addressing. The importance of promoting the library and creating enthusiasm in

students for reading is stressed in this study, however, and since this is the focus of this paper,

this article has valuable emphases. Based on this study’s findings, it will be crucial to the Ben

Lomond H.S. library program for the librarian to promote the materials and be in the classrooms

listening to students and presenting what is available in the library for circulation when new

items are obtained.

The article “Teen Reading Matters” (Krepps, 2003) zeros in on programs that changed

Downers Grove South High School library high school libraries for the better in promoting

reading. Programs that developed instruction on literacy issues such as book censorship and

banning, classes that teach about intellectual freedom and community standards, as well as

instruction on the pitfalls of pornography and obscenity, increased literacy. However, because

this paper is about encouraging reading and promoting it, some of the following ideas can be

used. They increased the number of conversations with faculty colleagues about young adult

literature, “providing a wider variety of book talks, and designing a faculty newsletter

highlighting new acquisitions.” (Krepps) Graphic novels which are very popular today, were

introduced by a guest appearance by the manager of the local comic book store, in this study.

The librarians also promoted reading via displays from ALA’s Graphics READ posters. The

authors of this article presented at an AASL conference, and they invited readers to attend and

hear how they refocused their time, energies and talents to make reading an important part of

their library program. These ideas can be incorporated to use for promotion of the Ben Lomond

Library, once the survey is completed.

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The article that focused on what this paper is about is called “Survey Says…Trends in

Teen Reading 2001-2003. (Marra and Mitteveen, 2005). The survey collected demographic data,

reading habits and attitudes toward reading, and the article works with data collected in 2001,

2002 and 2003. Each year varied somewhat in the questions that were asked the students. They

used open text responses to questions, which worked well when students had a chance to

describe their reading. The study was carefully conducted and it came to conclusions that

included a number of questions for library media teachers. One such questions was for librarians

to ask themselves what the media centers really offer teens, i.e. are the shelves well supplied

with trendy lit? The study also concluded that library media teachers need to ask whether or not

the library’s online resources are advertised to teens. Also, are library teachers continually

search for new ways to promote literacy to unmotivated teens. The authors believe that criteria

for current trends in library services to teens could be derived from this study.

Research Design

The study at Ben Lomond High School will be a survey that is descriptive, with a few

basic demographic questions, i.e. gender, grade, age, language spoken at home. The remaining

questions will center on reading, reading preference and habits of teens. It will be qualitative,

with perhaps some quantitative questions. The research will study two classes of students at

each grade level at Ben Lomond who are in an English class and will give information on their

reading background, as already stated. It will be nonrandom, as all of the students will be in an

English class. The sample size will be approximately 60 students at each of the three grade

levels. Due to the heterogeneous student population, this larger sample size is needed. The

study will take place at the high school, within the English classrooms. The data of this survey

will be collected by the library media teacher and aides.

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Conclusions

The conclusion of the surveys would be very interesting displayed in a variety of

configurations, and the reports of the measurements or results could be a combination. For

example, a pie chart could possibly be made with the demographics, gender and language spoken

at home. A bar chart could be used for the grades and since of the questions have at least five

response categories, or a Likert scale, a bar chart could be used here also. Others have a

semantic differential, but bar charts could be used for most of the survey results, overall.

It is anticipated that the student population will be better known and understood, with the

outcome of these results. The library media teacher will have a better picture of what the reading

habits are and what materials, such as magazine or books, to purchase for the future. The genres

that students like, will be known.

The results may also affect the English classes, as they realize the reading habits and

backgrounds of the students. In fact, the entire school might be affected if good measures are

introduced to increase reading and improve reading habits. It is certainly hopeful and academic

achievement and literacy will be improved as understanding is obtained of student needs and

desires.

In this era of technology, library media centers can be lost in the crush of networking and

the rush to use computers. If a study such as this can help library media teachers learn what to

do to be an effect and important force in the academic operation of the school, it is crucial to take

the time to conduct this research. The rewards will be great.

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References

Good School Libraries. (2006, June.). Literacy Today, Retrieved December 1, 2008, from

Academic Search Premier Database. http://web.ebscohost.com

Krepps, K., Null, M., Pakowski, K. (2003, September). Teen Reading Matters. Knowledge

Quest, 32(1), 44-44. Retrieved November 10, 208, from Academic Search Premier

Database. http://web.ebscohost.com

Marra, T. and Witteveen, A. Survey Says: Trends in Teen Reading 2001, 2002, 2003. (2005,

Fall 2005). Young Adult Library Services, Retrieved November 20, 2008, from

Academic Search Premier Database. http://web.ebscohost.com

“Speak Out: Surveys.” (2007) Smartgirl. Retrieved December 1, 2008.

http://www.smartgirl.org
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Appendix

NOTE: Ideas for parts of this survey came from Smartgirl.org (2007).

Survey for Teens at Ben Lomond High School

What is your gender: ___ male ____ female

What is your grade in school: ___10th ____11th ____12th

What language is spoken in your home: ____English _____Spanish _______

Other (please write it: _______________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you get good grades in school? Excellent—good—average—below average

Do you think your reading level has an impact on the grades you get? Yes—Maybe—No

How much do you enjoy reading? __ A lot __A little __Not

I always read about things that I am passionate about!

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

I read for the fun of it!

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No

Answer

I don’t have much time to read for pleasure, but I like to when I get the chance.

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

I read because my parents encourage me to.

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

I read because I get bored and have nothing else to do.

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___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

I read to learn new things on my own.

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

The people I hang with like to read and talk about books.

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

I don’t like to read because it isn’t cool.

___Strongly Agree___Agree___Neutral___Disagree___Strongly Disagree___No Answer

What kinds of materials do you read most often: ___Books ___Magazines ___Comics

___Textbooks ___Newspapers ___Blogs ____E-mails _____Listen to books on tape or cd

Not including school assignments, how many books do you read?

___Less than 1 book per month

___One book per month

___2-3 books per month

___4-5 books per month

___6-10 books per month

Where do you find books to read? _______________________________________

How do you usually choose books to read?______________________________________

Did somebody read out loud to you when you were little? ________Yes _________No

Does somebody read out loud to you now? _______Yes ________No

Who do you talk to about books that you are reading? ____________________

There are libraries in my community. ______Yes ______No _____Don’t Know

My school library has lots of books and resources that interest me:

___Agree very much ___Agree somewhat ___Do not agree very much ____Do not agree at all
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My school has a library teacher (librarian or library media specialist)

___Yes ___No ___Don’t Know

My school has library aides, but not a library teacher (librarian or library media specialist)

____Yes ____No ____Don’t Know

I go to the Ben Lomond Library ___Everyday ___Several times a week ___Once a week

___Once a month ____Once a year ___Never

I would read more if I knew about more good books to read.

___Definitely ___Probably ___Probably not ___Defintely not

I would like more books on the following in the school library:

_anime _romance _humor

_biography _science _art

_classics _short _history

_fantasy _chick Other:

_fiction _horror _______________

_nonfiction _adventure _

_Mystery _sports

_Poetry Which sport:

_religious _____________________

I would like more magazines like the following in the school library:

_Teen girl _magazines _Animals/pets

_Teen boy _anime _Teen Fashion

_African American _Current events _Snowboarding

_Latina _Spanish language _Wrestling

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_Basketball _Chess _Other:_________

_Soccer _Other:_________ Wrestling

_Skiing

I would like magazines to read on-line: ____Yes ____I don’t care. ____No