In designing the third Handbook of Reading Research, the editors drew on Daniel Boorstin's concept of a verge -- "a place of encounter between something and something else". They were mindful of the need to preserve the continuity of the past, the obligation of all handbook editors to maintain the traditions of the discipline it represents. In Volume III, as in Volumes I and II, the classic topics of reading are included -- from vocabulary and comprehension to reading instruction in the classroom -- and, in addition, each contributor was asked to include a brief history that chronicles the legacies within each of the volume's many topics. However, on the whole, Volume III is not about tradition. Rather, it explores the verges of reading research between the time chapters were written for Volume II in 1989 and the research conducted after this date. During this decade, reading researchers have established a new self-awareness of who they are as individuals, how they think, and what they value. They have become more receptive to novelty and change and, perhaps most important, they have become more community conscious. These three prevailing characteristics of the reading research community over the past decade have created a bounty of new verges.

In conceptualizing this volume, the editors contemplated long and hard how to best address these minglings of the margins. Some contributors were invited to address these verges using the lens of a telescope, tracing the trends of reading research across entire countries and continents. Others were asked to use the lens of a microscope, focusing on the complexities and patterns inherent within a single topic. In the process, the intent was tospan the verge between the breadth and depth of new developments in the field.

In addition, knowing that they had to do more than simply pass the responsibility of discerning new verges on to the book's contributors -- that new verges suggest the need to rethink what topics should be included in this book that ushers in a new millennium -- the editors extensively reviewed the reading research literature from 1989 to 1995 as portrayed in a wide array of research and practitioner-based journals and books. They identified two broad themes as representing the myriad of verges that have emerged since Volumes I and II were published: (1) broadening the definition of reading, and (2) broadening the reading research program. The particulars of these new themes and topics are identified.

Finally, Volume III represents a different kind of verge. The editors and chapter authors have elected to donate their individual royalties to a fund to promote reading research, established in conjunction with the National Reading Conference. This fund will operate on the royalty and fee income from this and subsequent volumes of the Handbook.

• ISBN: 0805823999
• ISBN-13: 9780805823998
• Editors : Michael L. Kamil and P. David Pearson and Rebecca Barr
• Language : English
• Format:  Paperback
• Publication Date: 3/1/2000
• Publisher Imprint: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
• Price ($AUD): $197.95


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