About Beth Gallaway

Beth Gallaway was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2006 for her work in advocating for videogames in libraries. She is an independent library trainer/consultant specializing in gaming, technology, and youth services, and is a YALSA certified Serving the Underserved (SUS) trainer.

2 Thoughts on “Boys and Reading”

  1. Michelle Glatt [Visitor] on February 26, 2007 at 6:47 pm said:

    I must say that I don’t agree with either of your statements about boys and reading. There are plenty of books for boys out there if we make the effort to get them into their hands. And if we make that effort, more boys will read.

    I get all the same review journals, etc., as everyone else and whenever I order books I find myself making extra extra sure that I have picked out enough “girly” books. In fact, I always joke that my reading preferences most closely match those of the junior high guys at my school.

    There are myriads of fantasies, science fiction novels, and adventure books to appeal to boys and with boys as main characters. The “radically changed” nonfiction books of the current generation are built to be fast-paced and relevant to students’ lives (boys and girls). The graphic nonfiction books are promising as well.

    So I think the question is: What do we do to get great books into the hands of boys who are on the verge of stopping reading?

    Programming is definitely in order. Scieska suggests starting Guys Read chapters, and I have done that at my school. We meet once a month during a time when the guys would otherwise be in a 100+ student study hall. Although I just started this year, I am reaching boys with books for them and just getting them to visit the library more in general. One example: I invited a video game designer in to talk about his job, and my student teacher booktalked books featuring video games, both fiction and nonfiction. I know I have a long way to go, but I feel good about my start.

    Michelle

  2. Beth Gallaway [Member] on March 7, 2007 at 12:40 am said:

    Thanks for responding Michelle! Apologies for not clarifying that those two statements were from the article I linked to, not my assertions 🙂 And your query, “What do we do to get great books into the hands of boys who are on the verge of stopping reading?” is a reat one! Thanks for sharing these excellent examples.

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