As part of Brighton Digital Festival we were invited by Jubilee Library to show some of the Digital Stories made at the Reading on Screen workshop in Brighton, on Monday evening. Ross introduced the project to the audience and showed Jenni and Barbara’s wonderful intergenerational films to open the evening. Jenni introduced the stories and spoke afterwards about the significance of Anne of Green Gables, in both her and her mum’s lives, and the importance of being able to hand down stories and books to the next generation. This immediately sparked discussions of the physicality of the book; the smell of old paper, of libraries, the smell of new books, inscriptions and dedications and the traces of previous owners in the books we find in second hand shops. Several people commented that although they use devices to read for convenience when they are travelling or on holiday they love to own the physical book because it means more than the story within it to them. We discussed the way in which highlighting functions in digital devices can give a sense of community and a sense of leaving your own ‘trace’ on a book.
Izzy and Dulani’s stories were shown next, and Izzy talked a bit about her experience of making the story. Her story prompted a general sense of recognition – the distraction of the phone pinging was something that was commonly recognised and it was felt that sometimes there is a sense that on digital devices there are no boundaries so it is easier to flip from one story to the next and not truly concentrate. Dulani’s story prompted childhood memories of favourite books and the experience of being read to, or having not being read to, as children.
The discussion moved to the fact that not all children are in a house where reading is encouraged and that being in a house that has books available is still in a minority, which brought us neatly to the final film, by Diane, a poignant reminder of how not being able to read can lead to isolation and lifelong difficulties. Her film is, above all, a call to action. One member of the audience commented that she too had been taught to read by an aunt before she went to school, and only later realised that this had also been a way her aunt could also learn to read …
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