The book Reading culture in the library space: Reflections on the Path from the Librarian as a Leisure Reader to the Librarian as a Professional Reader focuses on the question of reading culture and reading habits of library professionals employed in Slovenian libraries. The publication, which is supplemented by a book entitled The Role of Reading Culture in Librarianship: Reading Culture of Library Managers and Models of Professional Development and Longitudinal Research fills the gap in scientific and professional literature by addressing the reading culture and reading habits of library professionals who are widely recognized as the driving force behind the establishment and strengthening of reading culture and reading literacy in the society. The book also compares the results of the reading culture and reading habits studies of the general public, both quantitative measurements of reading habits (the Book and Readers survey) and more qualitative (or only partially quantitative) research on reading comprehension (part of the PIAAC, PIRLS, TIMMS, and PISA studies). Through six chapters, the book addresses two content areas that are also linked by the national strategy for reading literacy under the term reading culture: reading motivation and reading habits, both of which are transferred to the Slovenian context and to the field of librarianship, with a focus on librarians as professional readers. In individual chapters, it outlines the reading landscape in the national and international context, compares the general reading public and the professional reading public, analyzes the reading culture and reading habits of professionals working in libraries (combining the results of public, school, and academic librarians), and separately analyzes the reading culture and reading habits of school and public librarians. The theoretical chapters provide a new definition of key terms (e.g. librarian – professional reader). Empirical data related to the reading culture and reading habits of library professionals were collected as part of the targeted research project Reading Role Models: Reading Habits of Professionals in Kindergartens, Schools, Faculties, and Public Libraries. The survey covered 40% of the population of professional librarians; with some variations in the percentages in the subpopulations. The key finding of the survey highlights the relationship between leisure readers and professional readers, i.e. between emotional and value-based attitudes to reading. As such, the study also has applicative value.
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