Using the Internet to Encourage Reading

Abstract

We analyzed the websites of 125 elementary and high school libraries in Israel for content that promotes reading. We found that the websites promote reading in many ways and to different degrees, and that there is no consensus regarding the websites’ role in promoting reading. The most common content found included: reports on a national project in which students ranked books, links to special websites that encourage reading, lists of new books purchased by the library, library forum on reading, book recommendations by librarians and students, and biographies of authors and poets.