Digital Library

This digital library features full-text papers and books on subjects related to the serious leisure perspective. It is a work-in-progress that will be compiled as new material becomes available. If you are the author of work that could be included in this collection that you'd like to make available to readers, please contact us. To start this library are books in PDF format as well as several installments of a column by Robert A. Stebbins entitled "Leisure Reflections" in the Leisure Studies Association (LSA) Newsletter.


Digital versions of books

These are large PDF files and may take a few minutes to download. (If you have trouble downloading, try again later from a different computer; we've found these files to be unpredictable.) 

Amateurs: On the Margin Between Work and Leisure (1979), by Robert A. Stebbins

Canadian Football: The View from the Helmet (1993), by Robert A. Stebbins

The Franco-Calgarians: French Language, Leisure, and Life-style in an Anglophone City (1994), by Robert A. Stebbins

The Connoisseur's New Orleans (1995), by Robert A. Stebbins 
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Tolerable Differences: Living with Deviance (1996), 2nd edition, by Robert A. Stebbins

The Urban Francophone Volunteer: Searching for Personal Meaning and Community Growth in a Linguistic Minority, Vol. 3, No. 2 (New Scholars-New Visions in Canadian Studies quarterly monographs series). Seattle, WA: University of Washington, Canadian Studies Centre, 1998, by Robert A. Stebbins (typescript only).

The French Enigma, (2000) by Robert A. Stebbins

Challenging Mountain Nature: Risk, Move and Lifestyle in Three Hobbyist Sports, (2005), by Robert A. Stebbins


Leisure Reflections Series, by Robert A. Stebbins
(20 articles have been removed for inclusion in copyrighted publications.)

Leisure Reflections...No. 1: Choice and Experiential Definitions of Leisure, LSA Newsletter No. 63, November 2002.

Leisure Reflections...No. 3: Leisure and Citizen Participation: A Salutary Reciprocity, LSA Newsletter No. 65, July 2003.

Leisure Reflections...No. 4: Relaxation: Rocking-Chair Leisure and More, LSA Newsletter No. 66, November 2003.

Leisure Reflections...No. 5: Shopping as Leisure and Obligation, LSA Newsletter No. 67, March 2004.

Leisure Reflections...No. 6: Career and Life Course: Leisure as Process, LSA Newsletter No. 68, July 2004.

Leisure Reflections...No. 8: Recreational Specialization, Serious Leisure and Complex Leisure Activity, LSA Newsletter No. 70, March 2005.

Leisure Reflections...No. 10: Non-Western Leisure: How to Study It, LSA Newsletter No. 72, November 2005.

Leisure Reflections...No. 13: The Serious Leisure Perspective, LSA Newsletter No. 75, November 2006.

Leisure Reflections...No. 14: Leisure Studies, The Happy Science, LSA Newsletter No. 76, March 2007.

Leisure Reflections...No 16: A Leisure-Based, Theoretic Typology of Volunteers and Volunteering, LSA Newsletter No. 78, November 2007.

Leisure Reflections...No. 17: The Leisure Basis of Caring, LSA Newsletter No. 79, March 2008.

Leisure Reflections...No. 21: Paid to Volunteer: Linking Leisure and Work, LSA Newsletter, No. 83, July 2009.

Leisure Reflections...No. 22: Nature Challenge Activities: Answering the Call of the Wild, LSA Newsletter, No. 84, November 2009.

Leisure Reflections...No. 25: Flow in Serious Leisure: Nature and Prevalence, LSA Newsletter, No. 87, November 2010.

Leisure Reflections...No. 26: Personal Memoirs, Project-Based Leisure and Therapeutic Recreation for Seniors, LSA Newsletter, No. 88, March 2011.

Leisure Reflections...No. 28: Leisure and Happiness, LSA Newsletter, No. 90, November 2011.

Leisure Reflections...No. 29: Self-Directed Learning as a Foundation for Complex Leisure, LSA Newsletter, No. 91, March 2012.

Leisure Reflections...No. 31: Literature and Music as Serious Pursuits in the Arab-Iranian Middle East and North Africa, LSA Newsletter, No. 93, November 2012.

Leisure Reflections...No. 35: Keeping a Personal Diary: Making Time for Relaxing Contemplation, LSA Newsletter, No. 97, March 2014.

Leisure Reflections...No. 36: Experience as Knowledge: Its Place in Leisure, LSA Newsletter, No. 98, July 2014.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 37: The Emotions in Leisure: Positive and Negative Influences, LSA Newsletter, 9 November 2014 (http://leisurestudiesblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/the-emotions-in-leisure-positive-and-negative-influences).

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 38: Economizing: On the Margin Between Obligation and Leisure, LSA Newsletter, 12 March 2015 (https://leisurestudiesblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/economizing-on-the-margin-between-obligation-and-leisure).

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 39: On Edutainment as Serious Hedonism, LSA Newsletter, 11 June 2015 (https://leisurestudiesblog.wordpress.com/2015/06/11/on-edutainment-as-serious-hedonism).

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 40: Tourism, Flow, and the Serious Leisure Perspective, LSA Newsletter, 3 November, 2015. (https://leisurestudiesblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/03/tourism-flow-and-the-serious-leisure-perspective/#more-159)

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 41: Visible Leisure in the Community: Its Negative Side. LSA Newsletter, March 2016.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 45: Being a Politician in a Democracy: No Work like It. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, July, 2017.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 46: The Literature Review in Exploratory Leisure Research. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, November, 2017.

​Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 47: The Serious Leisure Perspective: Past, Present, and Future. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, March, 2018.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 49: Competitive Leisure through Sport and Nature's Challenges. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, November, 2018.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 50: The Joys of Loafing. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, February, 2019.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 51: Leisure-Based Sociability: A Ubiquitous Reward of Free-Time Activity. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, June, 2019.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 52: Procrastination and Leisure. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, October, 2019.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 53: Fashion Modeling: A Dramaturgical Analysis of an Amateur-Professional Art. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, March, 2020.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 54: Collective Selfishness through Citizenship: On the Dark Side of Political Participation. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, July, 2020.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 55: Self-Directed Learning and Leisure in Social Isolation. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, November, 2020. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 56: All Professional Athletes are Amateurs – They, too, Love Their Work. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, March, 2021. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 57: The Role of the Commodity Agent in the Serious Pursuits. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, July, 2021. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 58: Forced Non-Religious Contemplation: Is It Worse than Boredom? Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, November, 2021. 
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Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 59: Being Positive in Negative Times: Coping with Social and Psychological Turbulence. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, March, 2022. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 60: Serious Leisure and Wayward Youth. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, July, 2022.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 61: Freedom of Expression is not a Diktat to Read, View, or Listen to What is Expressed. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, November, 2022.

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 62: Citizen Science as Serious Leisure: Self-Image, Self-Worth in Everyday Life. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, March, 2023. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 63: Obligation and Volunteering in the Non-European Sense. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, July, 2023. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 64: Communitarianism and Leisure. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, November, 2023. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 65: How to Identify the Professional Counterpart of an Amateur Activity. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, March, 2024. 

Leisure Reflections (Research Blog)...No. 66: Counteracting Ignorance: The Liberal Arts Hobbies as Cure. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, July, 2024. 

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Other Works 
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Coffman, D. D. (2006). Voices of experience: Interviews of adult community band members in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. International Journal of Community Music, 4, Selected Papers and Abstracts from the Music and Lifelong Learning Symposium. [Retrieved from http://www.intljcm.com/current.html]

Hartel, J. (2006). Information activities and resources in an episode of gourmet cooking. Information Research, 12(1). [Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/12-1/paper282.html]

Kim, M. L. (2009). Development for Serious Leisure Scale (SLS).  The Korean Journal of Physical Education, 48(4), 397-408.

Kim, M. L. (2015). Reinventory of the SLS: Development of SLSII. The Korean Journal of Physical Education, 54(2), 313-322.

Leadbeater, C., & Miller, P. (2004). The pro-am revolution: How enthusiasts are changing our economy and society, London, UK: Demos (the think tank for everyday democracy).

Luft. C. A. (2007). Meeting online friends: Personal relationships in the 21st century. Masters thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Calgary (Canada).

Stebbins, R. A. (1999). Educating for serious leisure: Leisure education in theory and practice. World Leisure and Recreation, 41, pp. 14-19.

Stebbins, R. A. (1999). Serious leisure, leisure education and wayward youth. Paper presented at the conference on Leisure Education and Youth at Risk. Monterrey, Mexico: Universidad Mexicana del Noreste, October, 1999.

Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Volunteering - mainstream and marginal: Preserving the leisure experience. In M. Graham and M. Foley (Eds.), Volunteering in Leisure:
Marginal or Inclusive? (LSA Publication No. 75). Eastbourne, UK: Leisure Studies Association, pp. 1-10.

Stebbins, R. A. (2004). Pleasurable aerobic activity: A type of casual leisure with salubrious implications. World Leisure Journal, 46(4), pp. 55-58.

Stebbins, R. A. (2005). The role of leisure in arts administration, Occasional Paper Series, Paper No. 1. Eugene, OR: Center for Community Arts and Public Policy, University of Oregon Arts.

Stebbins, R. A. (2006). Mentoring as a leisure activity: On the informal world of small scale altruism. World Leisure Journal, 48(4), 3-10.

Urban, R. et al. (2007). A Second Life for Your Museum: 3D Multi-User Virtual Environments and Museums. In J. Trant and D. Bearman (Eds). Museums and the Web 2007: Proceedings. Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics. [Available at: http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/urban/urban.html].

Urban, R. (2007). Second life, serious leisure and LIS. ASIST Bulletin, August/September.

Wang, P. (2004). Flying Fun: An Exploratory Examination of Serious Leisure. Proceedings of the 2003 Northeastern Recreational Research Symposium.Leadbeater, C., & Miller, P. (2004). The pro-am revolution: How enthusiasts are changing our economy and society, London, UK: Demos (the think tank for everyday democracy).

Luft. C. A. (2007). Meeting online friends: Personal relationships in the 21st century. Masters thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Calgary (Canada).

Stebbins, R. A. (1999). Educating for serious leisure: Leisure education in theory and practice. World Leisure and Recreation, 41, pp. 14-19.

Stebbins, R. A. (1999). Serious leisure, leisure education and wayward youth. Paper presented at the conference on Leisure Education and Youth at Risk. Monterrey, Mexico: Universidad Mexicana del Noreste, October, 1999.

Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Volunteering - mainstream and marginal: Preserving the leisure experience. In M. Graham and M. Foley (Eds.), Volunteering in Leisure:
Marginal or Inclusive? (LSA Publication No. 75). Eastbourne, UK: Leisure Studies Association, pp. 1-10.

Stebbins, R. A. (2004). Pleasurable aerobic activity: A type of casual leisure with salubrious implications. World Leisure Journal, 46(4), pp. 55-58.

Stebbins, R. A. (2005). The role of leisure in arts administration, Occasional Paper Series, Paper No. 1. Eugene, OR: Center for Community Arts and Public Policy, University of Oregon Arts.

Stebbins, R. A. (2006). Mentoring as a leisure activity: On the informal world of small scale altruism. World Leisure Journal, 48(4), 3-10.

Urban, R. et al. (2007). A Second Life for Your Museum: 3D Multi-User Virtual Environments and Museums. In J. Trant and D. Bearman (Eds). Museums and the Web 2007: Proceedings. Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics. [Available at: http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/urban/urban.html].

Urban, R. (2007). Second life, serious leisure and LIS. ASIST Bulletin, August/September.

Wang, P. (2004). Flying Fun: An Exploratory Examination of Serious Leisure. Proceedings of the 2003 Northeastern Recreational Research Symposium.