The Bibliotherapy Movement
“A library is a hospital for the mind”
-Anonymous
Dating back to the 19th century, the term “bibliotherapy” refers to the use of various types of literature to promote healing and a general state of good health. While more detailed research needs to be conducted on the mechanisms by which bibliotherapy affects patients, scientists have hypothesized that readings used in the practice of bibliotherapy affect the emotions of the patients, resulting in biochemical changes in the brain. If applied properly, literature can positively change the patient’s overall sense of well-being, hope, and self-concept2.
History of the Movement
In “The Patients’ Library Movement,” N M Panella provides a detailed history of the rise of hospital libraries and bibliotherapy in the 19th and 20th centuries. While it has been found that hospitals really only began to seriously use literature as a method of healing in the early 20th century, an English medical doctor from the 1930’s claimed that man used literature to heal as far back as the 13th century in Egypt. In 13th century Egypt, the Koran was used to comfort and help in the healing process for sick and dying patients. In order to provide some measure of palliative care, the Koran was read aloud to patients in the hope of assisting healing. A connection was made between the comforting effects of literature and the need for comfort and solace when the body is at its weakest. Even before the Egyptians practiced organized bibliotherapy, the Greek philosopher Aristotle acknowledged the healing nature of literature. The very idea of using literature to heal has been around for millennia, but it has only been in recent centuries that bibliotherapy has been formally established to fight illness1.
The first instances of using literature to heal the sick in the United States were founded in attempts to alleviate the poorly understood symptoms of mental illness. In the early 1800’s, American mental health professionals began to experiment with reading as a tool for mental illnesses. In the middle of the 19th century, Massachusetts General Hospital established the first library specifically established for patients. Reviews praised how much the patients loved having a wealth of literature at their fingertips during their stay in the hospital. In response to the popularity of the library, the collection continued to grow and expand into the early 20th century. The library was even assigned a specialized librarian, appointed by the psychiatric department of the hospital, to assist in the upkeep of the library as well as in the appropriation of literature to specific patients. While other patient libraries existed in the late 1800’s, Massachusetts General Hospital’s landmark library became the most revered and most well-known.
As the 20th century progressed, the practice of maintaining a library specifically for patients became more and more common, and the patient library became a recognized establishment. Committees and organizations at both the public and private levels were formed in order to oversee patient libraries. As nations sought to injure and kill enemy soldiers during World War I, hospital librarians were called upon to join the cause with the hope of allaying the aftermath of violence. Across the globe, literature was dispersed in order to help comfort and heal the sick and wounded. The United States government even went so far as to allow librarians from the American Library Association on military bases across the globe. In 1919, over 150 different librarians were working on US military bases. After the war, effort was poured into maintaining libraries for disabled military men. As the century progressed, the science behind bibliotherapy began to be questioned. The institutionalization of hospital libraries began to dissipate after World War II due to lack of scientific proof, lack of public awareness and lack of public support for the use of bibliotherapy through hospital libraries1.
While the once popular hospital libraries are almost nonexistent in modern hospitals, The Balm Reader is an innovative tool that seeks to spark a new bibliotherapy movement in America. With modern technology, the relationship between physical health and forms of communication, including music and reading aloud, can finally be studied in a scientific manner. Previous studies have analyzed the effects of music on sick patients’ heart rate variability, and future studies will continue to examine the effects of music, literature, and other forms of communication on various aspects of an individual’s health5. The Balm Reader seeks to tap into the comforting nature of carefully selected pieces of literature with the intention of promoting healing and a state of comfort for hospice patients, hospital patients, and nursing home residents. The Balm Reader project is part of the next step in the evolution of bibliotherapy, building on a foundation of centuries of use of literature to promote healing.
End Notes
1 Panella, Nancy. "Bulletin of the American Library Association." Bulletin of the American Library Association. 84.1 (1996): 52-62. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC226124/pdf/mlab00098-0068.pdf>.
2 Cheu, Hoi, Joseph Gold, and et al, eds. "What Is Bibliotherapy." abal.laurentian.ca. The Association for Bibliotherapy and Applied Literature. Web. 3 Dec 2012. <http://www.abal.laurentian.ca/BibTHP.htm>.
3 Street, Richard, Gregory Makoul, et al. "Patient Education and Counseling." Patient Education and Counseling. 74. (2009): 295-301. Print.
4 Stewart, Moira. "Canadian Medical Association Journal."Canadian Medical Association Journal. 152.9 (1995): 1423-1433. Print.
5 Lai, Hui-Ling, Yin-Ming Li, and Li-Hua Lee. "Journal of Clinical Nursing." Journal of Clinical Nursing. 21. (2011): 745-756. Print.