Is anybody reading?

On August 22, the Portland Press Herald posted an AP article headlined, "One in four Americans read no books last year". There was no mention of library use, just books sales being "flat in recent years and are expected to stay that way indefinitely." The article also reminded me of the 2004 National Endowment for the Arts study "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America" which raised an alarm (for a short time anyway) regarding lack of reading of novels, poetry, short stories or plays during leisure time.

I am the first to admit that I'd love to see different headlines but I think that there is much more reading going on than studies measure. Some of the benefits of reading are intellectual engagement, acquiring information and participating in a common culture, and many people are doing it on the computer or via magazines or for that matter, my favorite as a kid, cereal boxes and the sports section. I am not sure that western civilization is ready to end just yet.




By some numbers, the past year at Portland Public Library system was a very good one that illustrates that the Library is growing in its relevance and vitality. New cardholders rose by 12% with over 7,200 people signing on to use the Library and its rich resources. Lending increased significantly to a record 742,000 items borrowed and most importantly, breaking free of a four-year stretch of stagnant borrowing. So, I take solace in those numbers -- somebody is reading whether it is a computer screen, book or magazine. That's a good thing.