Discusses user-centered thinking and lessons from reader-centered theory. Reviews findings from studies by literary theorists on user-centered approaches to information and uses these findings to support and offer two analogies: (1) an analogy between reader and library user; and (2) an analogy between information and the library. (Author/JMV)

Although many foresee the end of books with the rise of computers, there are good reasons to believe that books will survive, including their permanence, their value as historical records, and ergonomics. Librarians should continue to sponsor summer reading programs and book groups, serve as reader advisors, and prepare and post book lists. (PEN)

The author achieved something that he had been striving to do for several semesters when, in 2002, he revised his survey course on the history of the United States up to Reconstruction by replacing most of the photocopied readings he had assigned in the past with online texts. Readings on the web now provided the basis for 10 of the 12 weekly…

Drawing on thousands of "reading autobiographies," in which generations of students wrote about their experiences with reading, this book investigates what makes young people want to read. Chapters include: (1) Growing with Books; (2) Learning To Read; (3) Literature and the Human Voice; (4) Reading Habits and Attitudes: When, Where, and…