This paper reports on a research study investigating the role of pleasure reading in the lives of 12—15 year old residents of an eastern Canadian regional municipality. Pleasure reading was found to fulfil three broad functions: it enhanced academic performance, social engagement and personal development. In conclusion, the study confirms that teens, like adults, unconsciously use pleasure reading as a means of everyday life information seeking and the reasons for personal salience identified in the foregoing discussion have a strong developmental theme: in their pleasure reading, teens gain significant insights into mature relationships, personal values, cultural identity, physical safety and security, aesthetic preferences, and understanding of the physical world, all of which aid teen readers in the transition from childhood to adulthood.

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Researchers are increasingly using participatory visual methods (PVM) to gain a deeper understanding of newcomer children’s experiences, sense of identity, relationships, needs, strengths, and aspirations. By taking photos, producing digital stories, creating maps, drawing, sculpting, and other visual-based practices, children can help us understand how they navigate their complex worlds. We conducted a scoping review to explore what is known about participatory visual research with newcomer children. We searched nine databases, screened 692 articles, and included 21 articles for synthesis and analysis. Five common and connected areas were identified as important for consideration when envisioning, planning, and conducting this type of research with newcomer children: PVM provides an opportunity for children to communicate complex feelings and disrupt deficit discourse; participation in PVM research is highly dependent on varying cultural, economic, and relational factors; providing a range and choice of data collection activities permits deeper engagement and higher quality data; PVM can enhance meaningful engagement, reduce power asymmetry, and engender confidence and self-awareness; developing and sustaining trusted relationships are integral to the research process. The review reveals the need for more researcher reflexivity with an explicit attention to assumptions, values, and ethical considerations and suggests opportunities for researchers to better ensure newcomer children can share and shape their own stories.

Objectives – This study examines the reading habits and experiences of first-year undergraduate students at Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Methods – First-year undergraduate university students (aged 18 to 20) were recruited to take part in focus group discussions and responses were analysed to examine the following topics: (1) the role of reading in their lives, both academic and personal; (2) the development of reading habits from childhood; (3) reading engagement strategies; and (4) selection strategies. Results – This study suggests that reading for pleasure is a well-established habit amongst many first-year undergraduate students. First-year undergraduates primarily read for pleasure in order to relax but also recognize that pleasure reading can play a positive role in their academic performance, enhancing their range of background knowledge as well as their active vocabulary. Conclusions – The conclusions of this research provide recommendations for librarians and university administration to engage students and increase rates of retention in postsecondary institutions. In particular, recommendations related to the importance of pleasure reading collections, campus reading programs, book clubs, readers’ advisory services and quiet and comfortable reading areas in academic libraries are provided.

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