Survey of Reading Practices 2009 Summary for Halifax Public Library (Halifax, NS) Sample size: 62 1 November 2009 This survey is part of a research study on reading practices conducted by Dr. Patricia Demers (patricia.demers@ualberta.ca) of the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. Unless otherwise indicated, the results for questions that allowed participants to circle more than one answer are calculated out of the total number of responses to that question rather than the number of respondents who completed the survey. What types of writing do you like to read? Total number of responses: 312 Total number of respondents: 62 Novels: 56 Magazines: 51 Non-fiction: 48 Newspapers: 41 Short stories: 31 Online news: 28 Social networking: 12 Other: 9 Poetry: 8 Blogs: 8 Forums: 6 Graphic novels: 6 Comics: 6 Plays: 2 2 Newspapers 13% Short stories 10% Magazines 16% Online news 9% Social networking 4% Novels 17% Poetry 3% Plays 1% Comics 2% Other 3% Blogs 2% Forums 2% Graphic novels 2% On hand-held devices 3% How do you like to read? Audio books 4% Total number of responses: 89 Total number of respondents: 62 On computer 24% On paper 69 % 3 Do you care if your reading material is Canadian? Total number of responses: 65 Total number of respondents: 62 Yes No 15 responded YES 50 responded NO 17 23 % 77 % canwwrfrom1950.org 4 If not, why not? Note: We grouped the responses to this question into 5 catego- No reason 9% Canadian writing uninteresting 3% ries and calculated the percentages based on total number of respondents who answered the question. Care to an extent 26 % Total number of respondents: 46 Representative sample of comments: I read because I enjoy the material. The source is irrelevant.   I’m happy to read Canadian authors but they don’t have to be Canadian. For gardening books, I prefer Canadian. 5 Want variety & diversity of perspectives 36% Select based on content quality 26% If you do care, what types of Canadian writing appeal to you? Total number of responses: 123 Total number of respondents: 27 Short stories 13% Novels: 20 Magazines: 20 Non-fiction: 19 Short stories: 15 Newspapers: 13 Online news: 9 Poetry: 5 Comics: 3 Graphic novels: 2 Forums: 2 Plays: 2 Social networking: 1 Other: 2 Newspapers 12% Magazines 17% Online news 8% Poetry 4% Novels 17% Comics 3% Social networking 1% Graphic novels 2% Forums 2% Plays 2% Other 2% Note: 12 respondents who said they do not care if their reading material is Canadian answered this question nevertheless 18 canwwrfrom1950.org 6 Yes 10 % Total number of respondents: 62 7 Do you care if the writers you read are male or female? No 90 % If you do or do not care, provide a reason: Note: We grouped the responses to this question into 4 categories Total number of respondents: 37 Of the 5 respondents who said Of the 32 respondents who said YES 23 indicated that they do not see a difference between male and female writers, or that content is more important than gender of the writer 6 indicated that they care to an extent 3 indicated that they want a variety of perspectives   Representative sample of comments:   “To read authors of only one sex is denying oneself half of literature, social comment, etc.”   “I like to read well-written work. If it is by female writers that is great but I don’t first choose female authors.”   “If the story is good I don’t care.” 5 indicated that they prefer either the male or female perspective   Representative sample of comments:   Prefer female authors as can relate to characters better (fiction) but am ok with male authors of non-fiction.   I usually but not always like male fiction writers.   Again, if the book is well-written, the gender of the author is unimportant … however, I do seem to read more books written by women. 8 NO Please provide examples of Canadian women writers you read: Total number of responses: 34 The most frequently listed women writers were: Margaret Atwood: 18 Alice Munro: 12 Margaret Laurence: 8 Ami McKay: 6          Carol Shields: 5           Lesley Crewe: 4 Donna Morrissey: 4 Elizabeth Hay: 4 (Letter size denotes frequency) 19 canwwrfrom1950.org 9 In what languages do you read? Total number of responses: 77 French 10% Total number of respondents: 61 English 80% German 4% English: 61 French: 8 Spanish: 1 Others: Russian, Arabic, German, Chinese 10 Spanish 1% Other 5% If you do read in multiple languages, do you do so occasionally or regularly? Occasionally Regularly 11 31 % Yes 86 % No 14 % Yes 10 % No Total number of respondents: 13 69 % 90 % Do you enjoy reading material by international writers? Total number of respondents: 56 12 Do you play electronic games that tell a story (massively multi-player online games, solo quest/adventure games, etc)? Total number of respondents: 60 13 Indicate gender/year of birth: Gender Male 30% Gender Total number of respondents: 60 Female 70% 20 canwwrfrom1950.org Year of birth Age Total number of respondents: 58 66+ 7% 41-65 43% 18-25 10% 26-40 40% 14 Additional comments (selected sample): Reading is a great escape. A wonderful way to learn and experience new perspectives. I also love to read to prepare and educate myself about topics that interest me such as travel, health, relationships.   In one sense, I don’t care if a writer is male, female, Canadian or international as long as I get quality writing that I enjoy reading. I enjoy a diverse selection of authors. If it turns out the writer is Canadian, so much the better. Recently discovered Harold Johnson - I really enjoy his books. I really enjoyed all of Carol Shields’s books.   I like to read fiction especially from all over the world so I can learn about people and places outside Canada. I’m slowly learning more about contemporary Canadian writers, but gender and nationality are no concern when I select reading. 21 canwwrfrom1950.org