Page 144 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

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to give greater prominence to some reading materials as opposed to others when recommending them, compiling guides or proposing new sections.
• Is based on the firm intention to cultivate a selective attitude towards the reading materials available to readers.
The conception of a service designed to raise awareness, promote positive attitudes and encourage reading is based on this rummaging through physical shelves and in the cloud, on bringing to the fore a series of titles and inviting people to learn about a series of works, and, to quote Vázquez Montalbán, should function as a “taste guidance centre”.
Why make a selection?
We cannot take a passive attitude towards put- ting together a selection of reading materials – it requires an active and selective attitude because not all published materials have the same value or meet the same reading or information needs of all potential readers.
Seemingly similar materials can vary greatly
in their features and in the handling of their content, and this assertion particularly applies to the context of digital publishing and content published on the Internet.
In a context in which the supply is growing fast, it is essential to be able to lend added value to a selection by assigning different degrees of values to the materials, distinguishing between:
• Those that are reliable and those that contain mistakes;
• Those that set out to inform and those designed to create or modify opinions;
• Those that add value with their aesthetics or content and those that lack this dimension ...
The idea is thus to draw boundaries between carefully designed reading materials and those that are careless or inconsistent, also bearing in mind the adaptation to the format or means of access of each.
Whatever the case, we need to make a selec- tion...
• Because not all reading materials available on the market are able to meet the ob- jectives and functions established by each reading project or service; not all content provides thorough and suitable information and not all reading materials contribute to educating the reader.
• Because in the supply of both fiction and nonfiction, market inertia leads to an acrit- ical accumulation of series and collections, with an excessive cult of novelty to the detriment of works of unquestionable value and acknowledged quality.
• Because any self-respecting mediator who wishes to be recognised by others as an example of good practice needs to think about and cultivate a prominent role in guiding and educating, presenting readers with content and suggestions that they would be unlikely to find on their own or would rarely seek on their own initiative.
• Because reading materials that are obsolete or unsuitable for a reader’s level, capabilities and interests are neither useful nor persua- sive.
• Because reading recommendations should be dynamic, like the community to which the project or service belongs, and they should therefore always be revisable in accordance with changes the community undergoes.
• Because it is necessary to be cost effec- tive and manage the available budgets
READING MATERIALS
Readers in the digital age