As part of the DMU Festival of Teaching events students, staff and members of the public were invited to come and explore the wealth of reading available through Kimberlin Library. Refreshments were offered and the chance to chat about books, share thoughts favourite reads. Kaye Towlson and Carol Keddie staffed the event and Ann Collick created the display with books selected by herself, Carol Keddie, Gareth Glover, Chris Peach, Cress Burston and Dips Patel.
Students attending commented that they had never thought of the library as a place to borrow books for reading other than for their course and were impressed by the wide range of materials available. They said they used to read for pleasure but now focus on their course reading. Some students expressed an interest in “self-help” books, particularly those advising on career success or financial gain. Reads recommended ranged widely from Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman through to the Darren Shan Cirque du freak series.
The session promoted reading as a core skill enabling social inclusion, social justice and civic participation. Leisure reading has a big contribution to make to the development of this essential life skill and has many benefits: academic, social, health and wellbeing. This spoke to the themes of the DMU Festival of Teaching.