| Contents: NEWS FEATURES REVIEWS |
Features: Literature on the Web |
Look for a good read online
Margaret Kendall discusses the potential of information available through the Internet for fiction promotion, highlighting some of the increasing number of fiction-related WWW sites. Through them, she suggests, the public's interest in new technology and electronic information will be enhanced.Starting points It is ironic that the title Reading the Future is shared by two very different
publications. The DNH Public Libraries Review emphasises the key role of public libraries
in helping and training people to gain access to electronic information, making little
mention of books. On the other hand, the papers from the seminal Arts Council conference
held in 1992 focus on the key role of the public library in providing and promoting
literature. However, these two roles for public libraries are not mutually exclusive. Starting pointsWithout much experience, looking for information using search engines can be
time-consuming and it can be also be difficult to know which search engine is most
appropriate and how to get the best out of it. The pages and tutorials provided by AskScott provide a highly recommended guide as a
starting point. For a fiction librarian new to using the Web, the most productive place to
start is to follow the signposts provided by others on their World Wide Web pages. Project
Earl is developing the Earl Web pages as a
collaborative resource for public libraries. The Global Library section provides links to
many valuable sites under the headings Literature Online and Resources for Readers. The
Net Notions pages aim to share ideas between librarians about ways of developing services
for the online community. The section '"The book is dead" - Oh no it isn't!'
gives ideas and examples for promoting books, reading and writing, with useful links to
Web pages in America, New Zealand and Canada. Bubl-Link provides links to a range of
resources for English literature. Helping readers with selectionBrowsing the shelves is perhaps one of the key attractions to the fiction reader using
the library. It can also be a source of much frustration, as shown by research identifying
the extent to which choices made by browsing through an alphabetical sequence may be
disappointing. Many of the recent successful initiatives in fiction promotion have
involved the production of themed lists, displays and events to introduce readers to
novels they might enjoy. A popular formula for a promotional leaflet or bookmark is to
suggest authors of novels comparable to the reader's favourite author, or to suggest
authors for different categories of fiction. An example of an electronic version of this,
drawn from the Net Notions page, is the 'If you
like' list from Canterbury, New Zealand, which gives a range of suggestions under
headings, for example: Horror; a good humorous novel; Latin American fiction; Maori
writers; Glamour/glitz novels. Sub-headings for each section give further direction to the
reader, for example the section on Crime includes: American private eyes; When you have
exhausted Agatha Christie; Crime novels that walk on the wild side; Novels about spies and
spying; and Women detectives. Introducing fiction readers to the World Wide WebMembers of the public who are already using the Internet might appreciate being directed to the 'starting point' pages, discussed above, for their own explorations. A simple step would be to produce a promotional leaflet with a list of Web sites providing help with fiction choices. A more advanced step would be to produce a Readers' Services Page for fiction as has Rochester Hills Public Library, which provides a wealth of information and links to other sites arranged under various headings for ease of use. A library with facilities to demonstrate, or with sufficient personal computers to provide hands-on training, could hold an event to launch such a page under the theme of using the Web to help with choosing fiction or to develop an interest in an author, theme or genre. An alternative might be to hold a more broadly-based event or series of events on
selecting fiction. This could involve readers discussing their reading choices with each
other, introducing printed tools which can be used to help with selection and providing a
demonstration/hands-on opportunity to explore World Wide Web sites. A broadly-based event
might attract an audience which otherwise might not consider attending a session on using
the Internet. A series of events could also be held, with different sessions targeted at
people interested in particular genres of fiction. World Wide Web resources for genre fictionThe Readers' Resources section of the BookBrowser pages are a Web surfer's delight, providing links to an abundance of Web resources divided into topic areas, including romance, mystery, science fiction and fantasy. The stereotype of the romance reader as being totally indiscriminate in (usually) her choice of fiction was disproved by Mann as long ago as 1974,yet many libraries do little but provide an unorganised romance section containing light fiction from well-known publishers. A look at the 'readers review' pages under different sub-genres of romantic fiction on the Romance Reader site gives a fascinating insight into what readers gain from their reading as well as information about what they think of particular authors. Introducing readers to this and some of the other sites listed on the BookBrowser pages could form an interesting part of a promotion on the theme of love and romance, for example, using the broad range of titles presented by Van Riel and Fowler to introduce romance readers to works they may not previously have considered. The Romance Reader pages also give its 'Criteria for reviews' which could be used by a reading group in the library, or by a librarian preparing a booklist for a promotion. The latest available Public Lending Right statistics show the category of Mystery and Detection as having replaced Romance as the most popular category of fiction after General Fiction. O'Rourke found that 35 per cent of the library users she surveyed in Cleveland were crime readers.Any promotion using crime as a theme is likely to attract great interest, and World Wide Web resources could be invaluable tools to the librarian planning lists and events. The most comprehensive is the Mysterious home page which gives numerous links to other sites, including those on specific authors (for example, Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, Val McDermid), sites for specific characters, publishers, magazines, film and TV and Mystery Awards, including the British Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards. It may come as less of a surprise than for other genres to find out that science
fiction and fantasy are well-served by World Wide Web resources. What may be more of a
surprise, given the stereotype of the science fiction reader, is that the festival of
science fiction and fantasy held in Cheshire in 1994 attracted an age range from 8 to 83,
from varied socio-economic backgrounds and reading abilities. A similarly broad range of
people could be introduced to the Internet through their shared taste in fiction. Science
fiction readers who develop particular interests in authors, compiling bibliographies and
attending conventions to meet authors, could be particularly interested in World Wide Web
pages which enable them to feel in touch with authors and other readers. Many links to
such sites are provided by the Friends of Fandom's
Science Fiction pages. The Feminist
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Utopia pages include theme bibliographies, a recommended
reading list for beginners and sections on literary criticism. World Wide Web resources for literary and contemporary fictionServices to readers of literary fiction could be enhanced by publicising and providing access to the wide range of Web resources. The Book Lovers: Fine Books and Literature site provides a regularly updated and impressive range of links to numerous sites, including booksellers and publishers, libraries and collections, and literary journals. The Great Writers section includes sites for individual classic and modern authors, for example, Charles Dickens, Tolstoy, Maya Angelou and Doris Lessing. Some of these include biographies, bibliographies and extracts from authors' works. Readers might be interested in the literary challenge of the First Lines site, where they can test their knowledge to identify books under different categories. For libraries without public access to the Internet, this could be used as a resource for a promotional quiz. The Poetry Place has a resident cyber-poet, lists events and provides many links to sites of interest. There are sites for specific poets, for example, Seamus Heaney and Benjamin Zephaniah, and sites for poetry by place, for example, Chinese poems, the Irish poetry page and Lakeland poetry. As discussed by Meade, there is much potential for public libraries to become 'poetry places' and introducing people to networked poetry and resources could be part of such initiatives. Another particularly useful site is the Voice of the Shuttle which has a section for the study of literature in English from other countries. This includes links for African literature with bibliographies, study guides and criticisms. This could be a source for promotions aiming to include or focus on literature from other countries. Indolink provides an 'electronic link to India and Indian communities world wide'. It includes a collection of reviews of books written in English by authors of Indian heritage, and a poetry section including a collection of poems by Rabindranath Tagore. The West Indian Literature site provides a rich resource, giving an alphabetical list of novels by author and the country of origin in brackets. An interesting feature is that it is potentially interactive, with readers' comments on the titles being invited. Signposts on the Internet provides an online resource for librarians seeking material in languages other than English, giving information on sources of supply and expertise. Some library users may also be interested to know of its existence. Successful promotions can be organised around recent and past literary prize winners.
The Bookworm Home Page (although not updated
since the last series) gives amusing snippets of information about literary record holders
which could be used to attract people's interest, and lists winners of the British Book
Awards and the Booker Prize, amongst others. The Orange Prize for Fiction site gives
short and long lists of women authors selected and includes an interesting example of a
forum for readers to discuss their views. The books section of Library Q gives details of
the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Books Award, as well as
bibliographies of gay and lesbian authors and many other resources. Booksellers on the WebOn the Waterstone's pages, useful guidance is given in setting up a reading group. As well as suggesting that people meet together, with a library being given as one of the examples of a suitable venue, the guide discusses the benefits of readers using online chat sessions available through the Waterstone's Club. The potential for similar interactive services could be explored by public libraries, were the resources to be available in the future. Online bookstores and publisher sites can give detailed information about new titles and the latest releases of different authors. The Amazon bookstore provides a journal which includes reviews and extracts from new novels. Its extensive database, with illustrations of book covers and publishers' blurbs, provides an electronic equivalent to browsing bookshelves. This could mean, were a public library in a rural area to be connected to the Internet, that users could have similar access to information about new fiction to people living in an urban area. As pointed out by Pack, a useful feature of the database is that the searcher is directed to similar books by subject. For example, the listing for Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club gives directions to other categories including Chinese American Women, Mothers and Daughters and Domestic Fiction. As well as being a valuable service for readers, such links could provide the inspiration for booklists and themed promotions by librarians. The Internet Bookshop is particularly useful in
this country since, being based in the UK, it gives greater coverage of UK publications.
It has an Author Area with Web pages for each author including a biography, bibliography,
reviews and previously unpublished features. For example, on A. S. Byatt's pages, there is
a feature in which she discusses how she got the inspiration for the novel Possession. ConclusionsAs Harden and Harden point out, as people, particularly young people, become more familiar with using the Internet it will be an expectation that public libraries are involved. If libraries do not get involved, the pervading image of the public library as behind the times will prevail. The implications of this can be seen in the recent INSINC report which, whilst recognising the need for the involvement of public libraries in the development of proposed Community Resource Centres throughout the UK, does not recommend that public libraries be seen as the natural places to site locally-based information and IT resources. The reading of fiction of all types has great importance in our society in its own
right, as has the role of public libraries in enabling everyone, regardless of means, to
have access to it. Statistics have shown a steady fall in fiction borrowing over the last
ten years. Corresponding increases in sales of fiction show that this drop is not the
result of people turning away from fiction reading to other activities, but that libraries
are in danger of losing out. The need for more active promotion of fiction and libraries
has more recently been recognised, particularly with the support of the Arts Council.
Opportunities to use the Internet to develop and promote fiction services could help to
develop the role of the library, as well as being a means of raising public awareness of
the benefits of new technologies through their existing interests. |
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