Have you checked out the new Great Reads collection at the Education Library? Located on the main level of the library, the Great Reads collection features fiction and non-fiction books for adult and young adult audiences. The purpose of the collection is to support the practice of leisure reading.
In addition to supporting health and wellness in general, reading for pleasure can lead to positive effects on academic performance. In “Why Your Academic Library Needs a Popular Reading Collection Now More Than Ever,” Dewan (2010) argues that reading for pleasure “provides opportunities for the focused and sustained reading that students are doing with less frequency since the advent of the Internet.” (p. 10). According to Rathe and Blankenship (2006), leisure reading can help students see new perspectives, support the comprehension of more difficult texts, and develop critical thinking skills. Reading for pleasure is relaxing, informative, and can open up new understandings of humanity.
Do you have a suggestion for a “great read”? What book has inspired you? Let us know, and we may add it to the collection. Submit your suggestion here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7a3BXz2jJmBROXr
Great Reads collections can be found at many of UBC’s libraries. For more information on UBC Library’s Great Reads collections, visit: https://greatreads.library.ubc.ca/
References
Dewan, P. (2010). Why your academic library needs a popular reading collection now more than ever. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 17(1), 44-64.
Rathe, B., & Blankenship, L. (2006). Recreational reading collections in academic libraries. Collection Management, 30(2), 73-85.