Interest in bibliotherapy has grown across library and community settings alongside increasing attention to wellbeing and mental health. At a time when attention is increasingly fragmented and reading is often shaped by speed and interruption, the way stories are encountered is becoming more significant. Within this context, bibliotherapy is often understood as the recommendation of books for particular needs or life situations, and this continues to be an important aspect of library practice. Alongside this, there is growing focus on how reading is experienced, where story is met in ways that allow reflection, connection and meaning to emerge.

Repositioning bibliotherapy in this way does not exclude book recommendation. Rather than matching texts to problems, books may be offered as invitations, thoughtfully selected for their capacity to open curiosity, recognition or reflection and met in the reader’s own way. Reading may also be offered through shorter texts and slower encounters, where the quality of the encounter is valued over the quantity of reading. Through story, people may find comfort, recognition, companionship or new ways of seeing themselves and the world around them.

What follows explores a presence-led, invitational way of working with bibliotherapy, where stories are thoughtfully selected and offered to be met in each person’s own way, without pressure to respond or interpret. It considers how this approach can be applied in library settings, including in schools.

Rethinking bibliotherapy in library practice

Traditional interpretations of bibliotherapy often align with structured or prescriptive approaches, where specific texts are matched to identified concerns. In contrast, many library professionals are working in environments where readers are not seeking solutions, but rather space to reflect, connect and make meaning.

A presence-led, invitational approach positions the library as a setting in which reading can become a reflective and relational experience. Rather than directing interpretation or shaping the experience, the facilitator attends to pacing, atmosphere and the conditions in which a reader meets a text.

Such an approach aligns with reader-centred practice and with traditions of reader-response theory, where meaning is understood to emerge through the interaction between reader and text. It also reflects a broader movement within library practice toward experiences that support attention, connection and personal engagement.

Reading engagement and the conditions for reflection

A common focus in library practice is supporting engagement with reading, whether through access, discovery or the encouragement of reading for pleasure. Readers arrive with different relationships to books, shaped by experience, habit and context. A quieter aspect of library work comes into view here: not only how readers are encouraged, but how reading is encountered.

A presence-led approach sits alongside existing practice, allowing reading to be met in a different way. It does not require a particular response or outcome and does not depend on how a reader identifies themselves. Instead, attention is given to the conditions in which a reader meets a story. The shift from encouraging engagement to allowing experience is subtle, but it changes how reading is met.

An invitational approach

At the core of this model is an invitational way of working. Readers are not guided toward particular conclusions or interpretations. Instead, they are invited to notice their own responses as they encounter a story, poem or excerpt.

In practice, this may involve:
· offering a short literary text without introduction or analysis
· allowing time for quiet reading or listening
· inviting optional reflection through open, non-directive prompts
· valuing silence as much as spoken response

The emphasis is not on discussion or outcome, but on the experience of reading itself. Readers are trusted to engage with the text in their own way. There is no requirement to respond, interpret or explain.

Recommending books remains an important part of the work. Books may be offered as invitations, chosen for their capacity to open curiosity, recognition or reflection and met in the reader’s own way. In practice, this is often a small shift in how a text is offered, how time is held and what is not required of the reader. It does not require reading more in the conventional sense. Instead, it invites a different way of reading that is slower, more attentive and more gently held.

Whole books may be part of the experience, but it can also begin with much smaller encounters: a poem, a paragraph, a short scene or even a single line. These brief encounters are often enough to begin. When reading is offered in this way, it is often met more slowly and at times something in the experience may deepen.

A moment in practice

A small group gathers in a library space and a short text is read aloud. When the reading ends, nothing is asked of the group. Some sit quietly. One person looks down at the page again while another closes their eyes briefly.

After a time, a few reflections are offered. Others remain silent. The session continues without comment on who has spoken and who has not. Reading without pressure often looks like this in practice.

The role of the facilitator

Within this model, the facilitator does not interpret the text or shape the experience toward a particular response. Instead, they attend to how the reading is offered, and to the conditions in which it is met.

Facilitating in this way requires attentiveness to pacing, tone, timing and atmosphere. It includes recognising when to speak, when to pause and when to leave the experience undisturbed. Offering reading in this way is a skill, requiring discernment, restraint and sensitivity to what is happening in the room. In this sense, presence involves attending not only to the text, but also to the conditions in which the reading experience unfolds.

Reading as a wellbeing practice

Reflective reading can contribute to wellbeing not through advice or problem-solving, but through the experience itself. The value lies in slowing the pace of reading, creating space for attention and allowing meaning to emerge over time. It reflects a slower, more attentive way of reading, where the quality of the encounter is valued over the quantity of reading.

Looking ahead

Across library settings, bibliotherapy can be applied in different ways, from quiet, informal encounters with texts to group sessions including the thoughtful offering of books for readers to meet in their own way. In school libraries, further considerations arise around reading identity, pressure and the conditions in which young people encounter literature. These questions are explored further in Part 2.

About the author

Dr Susan McLaine is the founder of Bibliotherapy Australia and a practitioner-theorist in bibliotherapy. Her doctoral research was the first to explore bibliotherapy from the facilitator’s perspective, reframing the field as a presence-led, invitational practice. She develops professional learning for library practitioners across sectors, including work focused on bibliotherapy in school library settings. She brings over 18 years’ experience in reader advisory and reading for pleasure programs, including work within one of the most visited libraries in the world.