A Qualitative Study on Readers’ Viewpoint on the Characteristics of a Good Fiction Case study: Ardabil Central Library

پژوهشنامه کتابداری و اطلاع رسانی

Article 11, Volume 7, Issue 2 - Serial Number 14, November 2018, Pages 189-204   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/riis.v7i2.61219

Authors

leila mmp^{* 1}; Nadjla Hariri²

¹islamic azad university-science and research branch of tehran

²-

Abstract

INTRUDUCTION:Nowadays, the main function of public libraries is to be as a main source for reading and fun. Providing appropriate fictions for readers is of the main responsibilities of public libraries. It seems that some factors affect providing good fictions to library users. The present research aimed to investigate the characteristics of a good fiction from viewpoints of the users in public libraries based on a qualitative study.

METHODOLOGY: The research has been carried out using a qualitative method based on the semi-structured interview. The research population included 16 users of Ardabil central library. They answered the questions about their literal competencies and attitudes, what characteristics a good novel should have and how they access to the novels in the library.

FINDINGS: The findings indicate that the author name is the most important criterion for choosing and borrowing fiction books in public libraries. Readers' typology is based on their literal competencies and attitudes. Readers have different ideas on fictions and accessing them.

CONCLUSIONS: Public libraries are the main centers for providing recreational and readable fictions, so recognizing different readers based on their literal competencies and attitudes play an important role in selecting appropriate books for them.

Keywords

Public Libraries; Fiction searching; Reader typology; Literal competencies and attitudes

References

Adkins, D. & Bossaller, J.E. (2007). Fiction access points across computer-mediated book information sources: A comparison of online bookstores, reader advisory databases, and public library catalogs, Library & Information Science Research, 29(3), 354-368.

Buchanan, G. & McKay, D. (2011, June). In the bookshop: Examining popular search strategies. Paper Presented at the 11th Joint Conference on Digital Libraries. New York: Academic Press. doi:10.1145/1998076.1998127

Case, D. (Ed.). (2007). Looking for information: A survey of research on information needs, seeking and behavior. New York: Academic Press.

Elsweiler, D., Wilson, M.L. & Lunn, B.K. (2011). Understanding casual leisure information behavior. In Spink, A & Heinström, J. (Eds.). Future directions in information behavior (pp. 211-241). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Gäde, M., & Petras, V. (2016). Hood or hypertext: A comparison of offline and online book search sessions. Berlin: CLEF.

Graneheim U. H. & Lundman B. (2004). Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: Concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today, 24(2), 105-112.

Huysmans, F. & Hillebrink, C. (2008). The future of the dutch public library: Ten years on, SCP: The Hague, Netherland.

Lance, K.C., Steffen, N.O., Logan, R., Rodney, M.J. & Kaller, S. (2001). Counting on results: New tools for outcome-based evaluation of public libraries. Aurora. CO: Bibliographical Center for Research. Retrived ftom http://www.lrs.org/CoR.asp

Loffler, D. (1978). Wesen und Gegenstande literarischen Intressen. In Funktion und Wirkung, Berlin & Wiemar, pp. 274-343. doi: 10.5771/9783845274935

Lukin, P. (1994), Where one can find good books? (Master's Theses). University of Tampere.

Mikkonen, A. & Vakkari, P. (2012, August). Readers’ search strategies for accessing books in public libraries. Paper Presented at the 4th Information Interaction in Context Symposium. New York: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/2362724.2362760

Miesen, H. W. (2003). Predicting and explaining literary reading: an application of the theory of planned behavior. Poetics, 31(4), 189-212.

Oksanen, S. and Vakkari, P. (2012, June). Emphasis on examining results in fiction searches contributes to finding good novels. Paper presented at the 12th ACM/IEEE-CS joint Conference on Digital Libraries. Washington, DC: ACM Press.

Ross, C. S. (2001). Making choices: What readers say about choosing books to read for pleasure. The Acquisition Librarian,13(25), 5-21.

Saarti, J. (1997). Feeding with the spoon, or the effects of shelf classification of fiction on the loading of fiction. Information Services and Use, 17(1-2), 159-169.

Schafer J.B., Frankowski D., Herlocker J., Sen S. (2007) Collaborative Filtering Recommender Systems. In Brusilovsky P., Kobsa A., Nejdl W. (Eds.). The Adaptive Web (pp. 291-324). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

TM Seneviratne. (2014). Fiction Reading: Readers' choices of fiction books in the library. Paper presented at National Conference on Library and Information Science. Colombo.

Vakkari, P. and Serola, S. (2012). Perceived outcomes of public libraries. Library & Information Science Research, 34(1), 37-44.

Yu, L. and O’Brian, A. (1999). A practical typology of adult fiction borrowers based on their reading habits. Journal of Information Science, 25(1), 35-49.