The research has inspired a number of publications including The History of Reading (3 volumes, 2011) and The History of Reading: A Reader (2010). Researchers are currently working on Reading in the First World War (2014).
“Research emerging from RED has significantly deepened our understanding of the history of reading practices in the British Isles over five centuries,” says Dr Towheed
“Understanding how people read in the past is of considerable relevance to us today, when our own reading practices and preferences are changing rapidly. “RED also forms an invaluable resource for researchers of book history, cultural studies, sociology and family history.”
There is direct evidence that RED has influenced individuals to go on to do PhDs or write books about reading, he adds.
“We had a postdoctoral researcher working on the project for three years who went on to write a book about Jane Austen, and we currently have a volunteer who is working on a PhD about Joseph Conrad’s reading because of her interest in the project.”