Survey of Reading Practices 2009 Summary for Whitemud Crossing Public Library (Edmonton, AB) Sample size: 114 1 September 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: 508 Total number of respondents: 114 2 Newspapers 12% Magazines 14% Fiction: 95 Non-fiction: 74 Magazines: 73 Newspapers: 61 Short stories: 48 Online news: 33 Poetry: 20 Social networking: 19 Comics: 18 Blogs: 17 Graphic novels: 16 Plays: 8 Forums: 7 Other: 19 Short stories 9% Online news 6% Poetry 4% Social networking 4% Novels 19% Comics 4% Blogs 3% Graphic novels 3% Other 4% Plays 2% Forums 1% How do you like to read? Audio books 11% Total number of responses: 228 On hand-held devices 2% Total number of respondents: 176 On computer 22% 3 On paper 65 % Do you care if your reading material is Canadian? Total number of responses: 114 Yes 26 % No 74 % Total number of respondents: 114 30 responded YES 84 responded NO 12 canwwrfrom1950.org 4 If not, why not? Note: We grouped the responses to this question into 5 No reason Canadian writing 6% uninteresting or too limited 9% categories and calculated the percentages based on total number of respondents who answered the question. Care to an extent 17% Total number of respondents: 46 Representative sample of comments: I like to support Canadian writers, but will not read a text just because it is Canadian. Select based on content quality 42% Want variety & diversity of perspectives 26% Reading only Canadian works would be extremely limiting. A good book is a good book regardless of the writer’s nationality. 5 If you do care, what types of Canadian writing appeal to you? Total number of responses: 216 Total number of respondents: 55 Newspapers 15% Novels: 39 Magazines: 36 Newspapers: 32 Non-Fiction: 27 Short Stories: 23 Online News: 14 Poetry: 12 Blogs: 7 Social Networking: 7 Comics: 6 Plays: 5 Graphic Novels: 5 Forums: 3 Short stories 11% Magazines 17% Online news 6% Poetry 6% Novels 18% Forums 1% Social networking 3% Comics 3% Blogs 3% Plays 2% Graphic novels 2% Note: 22 respondents who said they do not care if their reading material is Canadian answered this question nevertheless 13 canwwrfrom1950.org 6 Yes 10 % Total number of respondents: 65 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: Total number of respondents: 111 Of the 10 respondents who said Of the 59 respondents who said YES NO 1 indicated that they prefer the female perspective 1 indicated that they choose to read women’s writing as a form of social activism 8 indicated that gender doesn’t affect selection but does inform reading 56 indicated that they do not see a difference between male and female writers, or that content is more important than gender of the writer 3 indicated a preference for male authors Representative sample of comments: Good writing is good writing regardless of the sex of the author. One does not necessarily know when reading a book by a previously unknown author whether indeed that person is male or female. Representative sample of comments: I take note of their gender and how it affects their writing but I read both. I enjoy good writing, gender does not matter. Frequently I find women writers more emotionally and spiritually satisfying. I believe is supporting in supporting women writers as a political statement. Since reading J. Russ’s book How to Suppress Women Writers it has been a goal of mine to purchase Canadian women writers’ work. 8 Actually the preponderance is male - but I like Atwood, Proulx, and a few others. Please provide examples of Canadian women writers you read: Total number of responses: 129 The most frequently listed women writers were: Margaret Atwood: 25 Margaret Laurence: 11 Carol Shields: 7 Miriam Toews: 7 Alice Munro: 6 Elizabeth Hay: 5 L.M. Montgomery: 5 (Letter size denotes frequency) 14 canwwrfrom1950.org 9 In what languages do you read? Total number of responses: 159 Total number of respondents: 114 French 11% English: 113 French: 17 Other: German: 3 Spanish: 2 English 77% German 2% Spanish 1% Others: Italian, Farsi, Afrikaan, Chinese, Cree, Gaelic, Korean, Turkish, Ukranian, Yiddish, Greek, Ancient Greek 10 Other 9% If you do read in multiple languages, do you do so occasionally or regularly? Occasionally 67 % Regularly 33 % Total number of respondents: 33 11 Do you enjoy reading material by international writers? Yes No 94 % 6% Total number of respondents: 87 12 Do you play electronic games that tell a story (massively multi-player online games, solo quest/adventure games, etc)? Yes 14 % No 86 % Total number of respondents: 107 15 canwwrfrom1950.org 13 Indicate gender/year of birth: Gender Gender Male 34% Total number of respondents: 106 Female 66% Age Year of birth 26-40 27% Total number of respondents: 102 66+ 14% 18-25 9% 41-65 51% 14 Additional Comments (selected sample): “Care” is a vague word to describe how a person feels about selecting reading material. I am I enjoy reading Young People’s literature as well and children’s literature, especially historical. It is important to support Canadian writers - it is not so long ago that there wasn’t much CanLit! sensitive to Canadian Lit. as American or British literature but I don’t read or not read a writer’s work because of their nationality. I read it because it has merit and a message for me. Not everything Canadian is that good. Why should I feel like that is the only thing, I should read or watch or listen to on TV or radio. If it’s good, great, if not, it is not worth reading, watching, or listening to. There are better things, sometimes, to occupy my precious time. Canadian authors need to be “good enough” to compete in an international or global market - not just a Canadian niche market & they need to be about more than just “Canada” or “Canadian.” They still need the elements of a good story or effective communication desired to reach its audience. 16 canwwrfrom1950.org