To Read or Not to Read - #18

Note: This document was created and published to my blog with Zoho Writer.

In November 2007, the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) released To Read or Not to Read: a Question of National Consequence, a comprehensive analysis of reading patterns in the United States. The report expanded upon the investigation of the NEA's landmark 2004 report, Reading at Risk.

Both of these reports are readily available to anyone who is interested. We have them in print in our library and library users can also access them online via the ODIN catalog. In addition, anyone who has Internet access can easily find these reports on the web.

As a person whose life has been immeasurably enriched by reading and a librarian, I am concerned about the state of reading in our country.

Among the key findings in To Read or Not to Read:

• Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.
  

• Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.
  

• The declines in reading have civic, social, and economic implications – Advanced readers accrue personal, professional, and social advantages. Deficient readers run higher risks of failure in all three areas.
  

Of course, the next question is what are we going to do about it? How can we change these trends? What can BSC do as a campus community? What can I do as a practicing librarian?

I don't have the answers at this point, but I want to give these questions serious thought and take them to our next Academic Operations meeting. I will be the leading the discussion portion of that meeting on September 29, 2008.

If you have comments, ideas, and suggestions to share about ways to build a reading culture, I am all ears!