The effect of booktalks on the development of reading attitudes and the promotion of individual reading choices

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the practice of booktalking on the library circulation of 20 selected titles and the effects of booktalking on the reading attitude development of the students in the study.; The 52 subjects were drawn from two fourth grade classes. The Estes Attitude Scales were administered in the pretreatment and posttreatment phases of the study to determine reading attitudinal change. A 2 x 2 Split Plot ANOVA was conducted. The effects for sex, time, and the interaction and time and sex were found to be nonsignicant.; The circulation rates of the selected titles were analyzed. The results for the effect for time were highly significant. The effects for sex and the interaction were found to be not significant. These results indicate that the booktalking treatment was equally effective in influencing the book choices of males and females in the study.; Ten books from the ALA Notable Books List, and ten books from the Children's Choices designees were used in the booktalks. The students in the study showed a decided preference for the Children's Choices titles by selecting the books from this list approximately twice as often as those on the ALA Notable Books List.; A Student Circulation Questionnaire was used to determine the effectiveness of booktalking influencing student circulation decisions. Eighty percent of the students checking out titles in the posttreatment period stated that the booktalk was the primary motivating reason for checking out the selected titles. The Student Circulation Questionnaire also found that the length of time for which booktalking affected circulation decisions was short. Sixty-one circulations were reported to have been influenced by the booktalking treatment. Fifty-two of these circulations occurred immediately after the booktalks.