How Can Shared-Reading Create A Community?

The standard route for promoting reading material - sharing information about forthcoming titles to audiences likely to be sufficiently interested and motivated to either purchase or recommend - is long established within the creative economy. A more recent trend is the sharing of reading material by an organisation or series of individuals in order to create common ground. Most commonly seen in the rise of the book group, this can be particularly effective within institutional settings with a large churn. ‘Common reading programmes’ have been developed to boost organisational belonging and impact transition within the US, and such schemes are now spreading within the UK.

Here a US and a UK university compare the origins, ambitions, processes, outcomes, and likely legacies of their pre-arrival shared-reading schemes, aimed at encouraging first-year arrivals to engage with their institution of higher education. After examining the related academic and professional literature, the specific processes of the two universities are explored and compared in relation to selecting a book for sharing, relationships with publishers, project costs, and how to measure results. The particular roles of project leadership, management support, and project status are examined. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made for such future developments.