Book Use in the Library
Tighe Gugerty
Ask yourself how much time you spend in front of the myriad of screens you use throughout the day. Does this detract from other endeavours you could partake in, such as reading a book? A recent article in Forbes pointed to a study by Scholastic’s Kids Reading and Writing Report that stated that 49% of children ages 6-17 are “infrequent readers,” those who read for fun one day of the week. Furthermore, a study from Common Sense Media compiled statistics from government research on reading with alarming results:
“According to government studies (NCES, 2013), since 1984 the proportion of tweens and teens who read for pleasure once a week or more has dropped from 81% to 76% among 9-year-olds, from 70% to 53% among 13-year-olds, and from 64% to 40% among 17-year-olds. The proportion who say they “never” or “hardly ever” read has gone from 8% of 13-year-olds and 9% of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22% and 27% respectively today.”
This drop from the mid-eighties, the advent of mass computer technology, to now shows the possible correlation of increased screen time to children reading less. To gauge how much these national statistics have pervaded to the local level, The Homer Olympian talked to Mrs. Mann of the Homer High School Library. This is her first year as a librarian at Homer and she too has seen the lack of interest for literature. As it stands, the library has approximately 1000 to 1200 total transactions a month. Of these transactions, 1000 (83%) on average are from students and classes borrowing Chromebooks while 150-200 (17%) are for the borrowing of books. This amount of book borrowing is roughly equivalent to that of last year, but Mrs. Mann is striving to increase the number of books taken out. She has had prior success in increasing transactions in her previous school, increasing the number of books taken out four-fold, and has revamped the layout of the library to be more inviting to would be readers; the fiction section has been moved and made more open to allow greater access and the nonfiction has also been moved. Mrs. Mann is receptive to student ideas for how to entice the more than 3000 students that sign into the library a month to get hooked on reading; she hopes to inspire reading through the library since much of fictional literature is cut from the new statewide curriculum. With bright eyes looking forward, Mrs. Mann hopes to make reading commonplace in students who are constantly bombarded by the onslaught of technology.
Works Cited
