‘Reading On The Rise’ According To Recent NEA Study
Posted by meredith on 01-21-2009
If you were in need of any more reasons to celebrate this week, then look no further. According to a recent study from The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), the simple pleasure of reading is having a comeback with “a definitive increase in rates and numbers of American adults who read literature.” After several years of downward trends and cautionary titles like “Reading at Risk” and “To Read Or Not To Read,” the 2008 study “Reading On The Rise” will come as a relief to publishing folk, librarians and booklovers alike. Most encouraging for our purposes here at Ypulse were the findings among young adult readers (ages 18 to 24) who made the biggest literary strides since the last survey. Here are some of the heartwarming highlights:
- For the first time in the history of the survey – conducted five times since 1982 – the overall rate at which adults read literature (novels and short stories, plays, or poems) rose by seven percent.
- Since 2002, 18 to 24 year olds have seen the biggest increase (nine percent) in literary reading, and the most rapid rate of increase (21 percent)
- This jump in young adults reversed a 20 percent rate of decline in the 2002 survey, the steepest rate of decline since the NEA survey began.
- Reading has increased at the sharpest rate (+20 percent) among Hispanic Americans since 2002 and has increased by 15 percent among African Americans. (The summary did not break down how many of these readers were also young adults, but it would be interesting to find out)
- Nearly 15 percent of all U.S. adults read literature online in 2008. (Ditto on the lack of demographic breakdown, but I’m guessing the majority were not young adults )
- While fiction (novels and short stories) accounts for the new growth, poetry and drama continues to decline, especially poetry-reading among women. (Editor’s Note: Interesting. I wonder if poetry needs another Sylvia Plath or even a Jewel-type figure to give it a boost among young women.)
- Reading is an important indicator of positive individual and social behavior patterns. Previous NEA research has shown that literary readers volunteer, attend arts and sports events, do outdoor activities, and exercise at higher rates than non-readers.
All of this is of course good news. The trick will be keeping the stats up. Hopefully, with more literacy programs like The Big Read, a partnership between NEA and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Obama’s fondness for libraries we’ll stay the course on this upward track.
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Categorized under: Books & Print, Books Freestyle