Preserving the Wonder of Stories: The Role of Reflection in Reading Education in Library and Information Science Programs

Abstract

Building on the concept of transformative learning and exploring the role of reflection in graduate professional education, this article uses student and educator reflections from the graduate course on reading practices to narrate four stories of learning. These stories, structured based on the “4Ls” model of reflection, describe what was Learned and Liked in the course and what both the student and the educator Lacked and Longed for as a result of the course. An argument is made in support of not limiting Library and Information Science reading education to techniques and skills for providing reading suggestions (i.e., readers’ advisory) but for enriching this education with reflective exercises, a theoretical foundation of reading behaviors, and challenging intellectual and affective engagements that will contribute to a well-rounded practitioner education that facilitates the reading experience.