This document discusses how leisure reading in academic libraries can benefit students' information literacy, well-being, and social justice. It argues that leisure reading is connected to academic achievement, empathy, and creativity based on research. Leisure reading is also linked to improved mental health and can help address social inequities by providing pleasure reading opportunities for all students. The document advocates that academic libraries should promote leisure reading collections and activities to support student success and development in these various areas.

1. Not required reading:
Leisure reading as an information
literacy, student well-being, and social
justice issue for academic libraries

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3. Connection to information literacy?
• Leisure reading  academic achievement
– “Free voluntary reading” (Krashen)
– Reading for pleasure during university vacations =
higher GPA (Gallik)

4. Social constructivism
• Life experiences and the
whole person
• Authentic learning
• Lifelong learning

5. Connection to information literacy?
• Leisure reading  academic achievement
• Leisure reading  empathy
– Theory of Mind – literary fiction (Mar)
– Interpersonal sensitivity – romance and
suspense/thriller genres (Fong, Mullin, & Mar)

6. Connection to information literacy?
• Leisure reading  academic achievement
• Leisure reading  empathy
• Leisure reading  creativity
– 4 out of 5 measures on SCAB (Scale of Creative
Attributes & Behaviors) correlate w/reading for
pleasure (Kelly & Kneipp)
– Creativity: re-frame negative information, decrease
worry, decrease neuroticism (Wycoff & Pryor; Kelly;
Gelade)

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8. Connection to information literacy?
• Leisure reading  academic achievement
• Leisure reading  empathy
• Leisure reading  creativity
• Leisure reading  mental well-being
• Leisure reading  social justice
– Lower levels of literacy = less pleasure reading =
compounding and cumulative disadvantages (Dewan)

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14. References
• Critten, Jessica and Andrea G. Stanfield. “Social constructivism and critical information literacy.” Critical
Library Pedagogy Handbook, edited by Nicole Pagowsky and Kelly McElroy, Association of College and
Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 2016.
• Dewan, Pauline. “Economic well-being and social justice through pleasure reading.” New Library World,
vol. 117, no. 9/10, 2016.
• Eskin, Mehmet, et al. “Suicidal behavior and psychological distress in university students: A 12‐nation
study.” Archives of Suicide Research, vol. 20, no. 3, 2016, doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2015.1054055.
• Fong, K., Mullin, J.B., & Mar, R.A. (2013). What you read matters: the role of fiction genre in predicting
interpersonal sensitivity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7(4), 370–376.
• Gallik, Jude. “Do they read for pleasure? Recreational Reading Habits of College Students.” Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 42, no. 6, 1999.
• Gelade, G. A. (2002). Creative style, personality, and artistic endeavor. Genetic, Social, and General
Psychology Monographs, 128, 213-234.
• Hurst, Susan, et al. “Cats, Comics, and Knausgård: Promoting Student Reading at a U.K. Academic
Library with a Leisure Reading Collection.” New Review of Academic Librarianship, vol. 23, no. 4, 2017,
doi:10.1080/13614533.2017.1371612.
• Kelly, K. E. (2005). The relationship between worry and creative personality. Counseling and Clinical
Psychology Journal, 2, 75-80.
• Kelly, Kathryn E. and Lee B. Kneipp. "Reading for Pleasure and Creativity among College Students."
College Student Journal, vol. 43, no. 4, Dec2009 Part A, pp. 1137-1144.
• Krashen, Stephen D. Power of Reading: Insights From the Research, 2nd ed, Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
• Mar, Raymond A., et al. “Exploring the Link Between Reading Fiction and Empathy: Ruling Out Individual
Differences and Examining Outcomes.” Communications: The European Journal of Communication
Research, vol. 34, no. 4, 2009.
• Stallman, Helen. “Psychological distress in university students: A comparison with general population
data.” Australian Psychologist, vol. 45, no. 4, 2010, doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2010.482109.
• Ward-Griffin, Emma, et al. “Petting away pre‐exam stress: The effect of therapy dog sessions on student
well‐being.” Stress and Health, vol. 34, no. 3, 2018, doi.org/10.1002/smi.2804.
• Wycoff, E. B., & Pryor, B. (2003). Cognitive processing, creativity, apprehension, and the humorous
personality. North American Journal of Psychology, 5, 31-44.

15. Elizabeth Brookbank
Associate Professor /
Instruction Librarian
Western Oregon
University
Email: brookbanke@wou.edu
Twitter: @elizabethbrookb