Reading culture among the educated working class in Nairobi and its impacts on the local book publishing

Abstract

The main purpose for this study was to establish the influence of a poor reading culture on the editorial policy of book publishing houses. The study was conceived due to the fact that reading surveys in Kenya mostly target school-going children. They rarely take into consideration adults who have gone through formal education, are highly literate, can afford to buy reading matter and perhaps most importantly can influence their children and other adults into reading. It is this segment of society that this study concentrated on. The study was conducted through a survey using self administered questionnaires to 360 respondents randomly selected from both public and private enterprises in Nairobi. In addition, informant interviews were conducted to five selected mainstream publishers. The data was analysed using quantitative techniques and presented in frequency distribution tables. The study established that book reading habits were largely underdeveloped among the respondents due to historical, socio-cultural, economical as well as educational factors. Publishers also confirmed that the poor reading culture has made them to relegate the development of creative works meant for adult leisure reading and instead shifted their focus on the lucrative school textbook market. The study concludes that the poor reading culture in the country indeed skews editorial policies of book publishing houses toward textbook publishing. The study recommends that for a reading culture to be developed and sustained, it must be harnessed at childhood and both the government and publishers must work hand in hand to promote reading as well as facilitate change of perceptions towards reading through more research.