Young People's Reading and Information Use at the End of the Century.

This paper focuses on a 1997 pilot project carried out in five secondary schools in South Africa that examined children's reading and information use. This study (n=958) was part of a larger study from 1995 and 1996 carried out in the United Kingdom. The primary goal was to examine what young people are reading at the end of the 20th century. The project goals were to understand the relationship between reading and attitudes to a range of topical social issues; to examine the ways in which children and young adults encounter and choose what to read; to provide information about the reading habits and information use of children and young adults of different age, sex, class, ethnic background, geographical location, and educational sector; and to discern between conventional forms of reading (printed matter) and new developments in the presentation of and interactions with text (including audio tapes, video games, CD-ROMs). The findings are grouped in the following areas: how young people choose books and comics; think about fiction, out of school (and after-school) activities and reading for information. The intent of the study is to provide academic librarians, publishers, authors illustrators and parents insights into what children and young adults like to read. (MES/EPC)