October 23, 2011

According to Suzanne Stauffer in the article Summer Reading Incentives: Positive or Pernicious, the precursor to giving away rewards for reading started with the Library Club of America in 1955. The LCA was founded by the Book Manufacturers Institute. I did a quick Google search and couldn't find the Library Club of America, but the Book Manufacturers Institute is still around and celebrating its 77th year. After only a quick perusal of the site, they exist to support all aspects of the book industry.

This makes me ponder whether or not the original promotion in 1955 of membership pins, buttons and certification for reading was a way to promote the selling of books and not necessarily to promote reading. If so, then we have loosely based our efforts to promote reading on a marketing plan. Is this good or bad? I'm not sure if it is positive or pernicious, but it has had an impact on our efforts to promote reading. For a marketing plan, this incentive strategy works. Customers need a short term reward to aid their purchasing decisions, but what about the long term?

If reading is so important, should we use any means necessary to 'turn kids onto reading?' The research shows positives and negatives associated with extrinsic rewards. I wonder about the moral question. Should we bribe children or adults to use a skill that will serve them their entire lifetime? Is it for the good of society. Not sure I'll solve that question this semester, but it is interesting to follow the links in the chain and see where you end up.