Online Book Clubs

ONLINE BOOK CLUBS

A REVIEW OF SCHARBER, MELROSE AND WURL

HYPOTHESIS

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY

MERRIUM-WEBSTER

a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences

an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument

the antecedent clause of a conditional statement

In the article written by Scharber, Melrose, & Wurl for Library Review regarding online book clubs, the paper begins with a working hypothesis claiming online book clubs are “sites of possibility."

THE HYPOTHESIS

In this paper the authors assert, “Online book clubs offer a forum that capitalizes on youths’ familiarity with computers & new literacy practices while staying rooted in traditional practices. Public library online book clubs are sites of possibility – a medium through which libraries can more readily encourage literate practices in younger generations.”

HYPOTHETICAL ARGUMENT

ONLINE BOOK CLUBS ARE: "SITES OF POSSIBILITY"

The above quote represents a conditional statement based on an assumptive theory proposed for the sake of argument and as an assumption proposed to test logical and/or empirical results.

PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The research to determine the value and popularity of online book clubs has to be divided into two separate categories of mixed results, one for preteens and another for teens. The authors quote data in a 2007 report from the National Endowment of the Arts indicating a diminishing gap in readership between preteens and older adolescents that narrows the practical significance of this study.

ASSESSING THE PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY REVEALS A DIVIDE AMONG PRETEENS AND OLDER TEENS IN THIER PROCLIVITY TO VOLUNTARILY READ

To illustrate that divide Hennepin County Library initiated a summer reading program in 2005 that was attended by twelve preteens and four older teens yielding few practical results overall that could be correlated to the greater population of Hennepin County. The small sample size is further confounded by the type of participants who joined the OLBC program since most of them were “voluntary readers” who wanted to read and would have been reading in one format or another—either by traditional methods or by online access. The practical significance of a small sample size of avid readers reduces the impact made by offering books online. One initiative by the HCL was to invite the participation of book authors and that too was attended by problems voiced by one of the authors, Ann Melrose, who complained her role in the OLBC was “perplexing” and not clearly defined leaving her to guess what was expected of her—was she expected to be a teacher or a fellow book club member? Overall, the mixed results of this article tend to narrow its impact and significance and while not without merit, the general applicability of the study has a narrow membership of preteens grades 4-6. The practical significance of OLBC lies in its exciting potential to serve the needs of people with disabilities, older adults, the general public, and kids of all ages while out of school. OLBC also serve as important points of social conversation and camaraderie for people inclined to join and participate, but its practical application may not extend to those who are not inclined to read either in school or online.

Statistical Significance:

The concept of OLBC as being representative sites of possibility offsets statistical significance not only due to its hypothetical nature, but because it’s counterintuitive to conclusive statistics.

Statistics represent a hardcore set of visual data that can be traced to a source and replicated using an identical tool of measurement. This article did not produce any measurable statistics other than the number of girls who registered for online services and, of these, only those who actually took part in the OLBC. The sample used by the review represented a small number of preteen and teens who expressed the desire to read out of a greater number of students who declined to participate. The effect of a small sample size reduces the statistical significance of the study and, when reviewed in conjunction with the convenience population it was drawn from, a single subset of students, it cannot be used to generalize to the greater audience of users. This article proposes a deductive conclusion based on inadequate statistical data and an inherently flawed approach using inconclusive possibilities to predicate upon.

PUBLIC AND SCHOOL LIBRARIES AS SITES OF POSSIBILITY

REFERENCES Scharber, Cassandra M., Melrose, a., & Wurl, J. (2009). Online Book Clubs for Preteens and Teens. Library Reserve, 58 (3), 176-195. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00242530910942036/full/pdf

ONLINE BOOK CLUBS ARE A GREAT WAY TO ENCOURAGE READING IN ALL GENERATIONS, THE CAVEATE BEING THERE HAS TO AN INITIATIVE TO READ. THE BEST SITE OF POSSIBILITY REMAINS THE PARTICIPATION OF PARENTS/TEACHERS TO PROMOTE READING AMONG ALL TEENS. AS AN OPTION, OLBC REMAIN A VIABLE CHOICE OF ACCESS FOR THOSE INCLINED TO READ.