The power of words and reading

My favorite quotation on reading and books is from former US president Barack Obama, who said in a 2017 interview on what books mean to him: “…(reading) reintroduced me to the power of words as a way to figure out who you are and what you think, and what you believe, and what’s important, and to sort through and interpret this swirl of events that is happening around you every minute.”

The best way to ensure the preservation of democratic institutions in a society is to develop a literate society. This is one where citizens are fully informed of current events and where they are familiar with concepts like liberty, equality and fraternity. These ideas can only be conveyed through books.

The 2023 National Readership Survey of the National Book Development Board (NBDB) conducted by the Social Weather Stations is a major project because it can serve as a way of setting a program that can lead towards increasing reading of books even if we are a developing country. I want to point out that the concern should not be on how to encourage the publishing industry. In any business, the initial step towards increasing investments and production is by increasing demand. If we are to encourage the publishing industry, the initial step is to increase the demand for books and magazines.

In the NBDB survey on readership, there are lessons that can be learned and implemented that will lead towards this goal of increasing readership. The survey is a comprehensive one.

Here is a summary of the survey highlights which cover readership of non-school books (NSB), readership preferences, access to NSB, patterns of NSB acquisition, opinion on non-readership, awareness of library in one’s city or municipality, general attitudes toward books and reading.

• 42 percent of Filipino adults and 47 percent of children reported reading NSB in the past 12 months.

• Bible, picture books and romance were the most popular genre for adults, while picture books and short stories for children and Bible were top choices for children.

• Print books remained the preferred format for most genres, with online access and e-books being a prevalent mode of acquisition for both adults and children.

• Most purchases were made in bookstores, with online buying being prevalent in most genres.

• Most adult readers began their reading journey around the age of 16, with Filipino as the preferred language (73 percent). Among children, NSB readers start reading at the age of 9, with language preferences leaning towards Filipino (66 percent) and English (31 percent).

• More than half of Filipino adults and children prioritize book availability followed by affordability as their main considerations when choosing NSB.

• 79 percent of adults and 58 percent of children express self-motivation as the primary source of encouragement for their reading habits.

• Majority of adults prefer reading at home (87 percent) while children prefer reading at school (69 percent). Both choices were driven by the desire for quietness and ability to focus on NSB.

• Borrowing from someone is the most preferred method of acquiring NSB for both adults (55 percent) and children (49 percent).

• Filipino adults and children prefer brand new conditions of NSB (45 percent and 63 percent, respectively).

• Most adults (39 percent) are willing to pay P99 and below for a printed, brand-new NSB from a physical bookstore.

• Purchase of NSB in the past 12 months was at 8 percent for adults and 12 percent for children.

• The majority of adults (57 percent) and children (55 percent) prefer NSB written by Filipino authors.

• Both Filipino adults and children cited Other leisurely activities are more interesting, followed by Difficulty to find time as top reasons for non-readership.

• Familiar and easy to understand words, illustrations or pictures and interesting topics were cited as factors that could encourage readership among adult and children non-readers.

• Only 18 percent of Filipino adults and 12 percent of children are aware of public libraries in their city/municipality, with higher awareness in Metro Manila.

• The most cited reason for not visiting libraries is a lack of time (63 percent for adults and 43 percent for children).

• Generally, both adult and children respondents express positive attitudes towards the statement “Reading books is a good leisure activity” (89 percent and 88 percent, respectively).

• 88 percent of adults and 83 percent of children believe that reading is more important for children than adults.

• However, almost half of adults and children find reading books tiring (47 percent and 45 percent, respectively).

• Notably, around 3 out of 10 believe in the statement “Buying books is a luxury” (29 percent for adults and 31 percent for children).

I noticed that when the question was asked about the main considerations in choosing NSB to read, the highest response was the book’s availability. This was the response from 59 percent of adults and 60 percent of children. This response was even higher than the answer on the book’s affordability. The only solution to this is really public libraries. There must be an intensive program by the Department of Education and some other government agencies to open as many public libraries as possible and address the issue of lack of availability.

The overwhelming majority of adults (79 percent) and children (58 percent) express self-motivation as the primary source of encouragement for reading. There was no expression of encouragement due to a national program for reading and only 11 percent due to teachers.

No country can progress without a citizenship that is empowered to read and think critically.