This Summer, Worship a Book

How a campus reading contest promoted library services

By Elisabeth Leonard, Allie Carr, & Katy Farrell -- Library Journal, 11/15/2005

While academic libraries focus on reading for research, the University of California–San Diego's (UCSD) annual summer reading contest focuses on reading for fun. Created by UCSD's Social Sciences and Humanities Library in June 2004, the contest promotes reading to university staff. The contest is entitled: “This summer, worship a good book!” That title was inspired by the Sun God, a 14' sculpture that is the campus's unofficial mascot. “Worship a good book” is so successful that it is now an anticipated annual event.

Like many campuses, UCSD is relatively quiet during the summer. It is not the best time for outreach to faculty or students, many of whom take the summer off. However, a very large campus group, university staff, remains on campus. Summer is an optimal time to reach them.

Many UCSD staff did not know they could borrow books, use research databases, or ask librarians for assistance. We needed to educate staff about library services in a way that would be enjoyable and encourage lifelong learning. With the words “Read Write Think Dream” echoing in our minds, we devised the summer reading contest. The objectives were to encourage recreational reading, increase use of the libraries' collections, heighten awareness of staff library privileges, and educate staff about how to use library resources such as the library catalog.

Under the simple contest rules, readers submit an entry for each book they read. Only books found in the UCSD library catalog are eligible. The entry form asks for the book title, author, call number, and three questions about the book, of which readers are to answer at least one. There are optional fields for the reader's name and email address.

Readers receive prizes for reaching benchmarks in the contest. The prizes change each year. Examples include a library license plate frame for reading one book, a library coffee mug for reading five, and a library canvas bag for reading ten. Readers are also eligible for prizes awarded at a reading contest celebration held at the end of the summer.

We personalized the contest in the first year by highlighting a “Reader of the Week.” Readers were chosen at random and asked to submit a brief biography and photograph for the web site. Each reader, with one exception, agreed to participate. They responded to the questions, “How do you choose the books you read?” and “Where do you do your reading?” It took so much to maintain the Reader of the Week that we dropped it in the second year. However, we received feedback that it was missed, so it may reappear next year.

For the contest to be successful, UCSD staff should not only be aware of it but be interested in participating. We advertised the program using UCSD web sites, emails, flyers, an exhibit, and at the UCSD Staff Association picnic. An article was posted on the UCSD Libraries main web site, the UCSD campuswide calendar of events, and the UCSD staff and faculty web site. To reach staff specifically, an email announcing the contest, as well as updates, were posted to the UCSD staff discussion list. In addition to the electronic promotions, we mailed flyers to academic departments within the social sciences and humanities.

The contest web site (sshl. ucsd.edu/summer) is essential to its promotion. It includes rules, entry forms, readers' advisory, a section on using the catalog and requesting books from other UCSD libraries, and reader reviews. The latter, insightful and entertaining, help to create a new community of readers on a large university campus. The reviews also generate continued interest in the contest, as new participants join after reading reviews and as existing contestants find new books after perusing the posted evaluations.

Another tool was partnering with the UCSD Staff Association. In addition to posting announcements on its web site and email list, we promoted the summer reading contest at a booth at the annual Staff Association picnic. We also partnered with the campus bookstore in exchange for free gift certificates to use as prizes.

In order to determine what advertising was most successful and where we should focus our efforts in the future, participants were asked to identify how they heard about the contest. Most learned about it from one of the web sites. Email was the next most effective promotional medium.

The contest was overwhelmingly successful. Staff now anticipate it, as was evident when book reviews begin arriving on the first day. From 328 last year, the contest grew to 460 entrants this year, the number of reviewers increased from 58 to 79, and the newly invented team category drew ten groups.

Many people enthusiastically made their first trip to the Geisel Library to find books. They often needed instruction in the catalog, as well as assistance navigating through the building. The contest provided an opportunity to promote the wealth of resources the library offers. Many readers commented on discovering “new” services, which included delivery of books from one library to another and use of library resources other than the catalog to select new reading material.

Some library staff were surprised by the enthusiasm among some readers. While some were interested in the prizes, most of the joy stemmed from the satisfaction of reaching a personal reading goal. One reader wrote, “This summer reading contest has given me extra encouragement to make time…for reading and helped me to remember how wonderful it is to get lost in the world of books.”

The contest stimulated more than reading: it created conversation and community. One team reader wrote, “I was part of a team, and we had a great time talking about the books that we read and would chastise one another if someone hadn't finished reading a selection or didn't write their review. The team thing was great because I got to know my other team members outside of the work ­environment.”

Most readers attended the luncheon celebration and awards ceremony, which is publicized throughout the contest. The outreach team decided not to base awards strictly on number of books or pages read (although awards were given for both of those categories). Categories such as The Comedic Critic (most humorous reviews) and Woman of Few Words (shortest review) were developed to acknowledge the creativity and commitment of the participants. Prizes awarded at the celebration were all donated from local vendors on and off campus. The prizes varied, from gift certificates to the campus coffeehouse to lunch for 12 at a local restaurant to a weekend stay at a local casino.

The celebration allowed readers from across campus to mingle with one another, members of the committee, and the university librarian, the celebration's sponsor. The contest had spurred people to read more than they usually did. They enjoyed putting faces of both the committee members and the other readers with the names they had come to recognize.

Not only has UCSD's summer reading contest committee met its goals of increasing use and awareness of the library's collection and services, but a community of readers has been created. One contestant commented, “This reading program was something I looked forward to all summer. It breaks up the school year and provides an opportunity for book lovers to connect.”