National Reading Group Month

October is National Reading Group Month!  

Have you ever been in a reading group? Now is a great time to start one!  

The data on literacy and book reading behavior in the United States isn’t great, but there is reason to have hope, and reading groups can be part of the answer. As a librarian, I find statistics about book readership fascinating – here are a few that stood out to me recently, which come from this study by the American Academy for Arts and Sciences.  

• Book reading rates have been in a steady decline since the 90s. In 1992, 61% of Americans had read a book for fun in the last year, but in 2022 that number was down to 48.5%. 

• That percentage (48.5%) puts us on par with Slovakia and Latvia, but well below countries like Switzerland, Finland, Norway, and Estonia (among others) who all have reading rates above 70% 

Usually when we hear about the decline in reading rates, most of the blame gets put on younger generations – and there are lots of real reasons to be worried about declining literacy rates among young people. But the latest research on reading behavior from the Pew Research Center shows surprising results! Young people (ages 18-25) reported the highest rates of reading of any age group! (It’s important to note that these statistics are slightly different from the American Academy for Arts and Sciences study, which specified reading for fun, while this survey asked about reading books in general, including in school contexts – you’ll also notice that audiobooks and ebooks make up a larger portion of young people’s reading material). Still, I love to see any statistic that is hopeful about turning the tide on our declining reading statistics!  

How does this relate to reading groups? Well, the American Academy for Arts and Sciences study reported that despite an overall decline in reading rates, American participation in reading groups and book clubs actually increased from 3.5% in 2012 to 6% in 2022.  

So, what can you do to bump up our reading statistics? Start a reading group! And how convenient that October is National Reading Group Month.  

Check out this guide from the American Library Association on starting your own reading group. Looking for a book recommendation? Come talk to your librarians!  

In the spirit of reading together, the Library is also hosting a Spooky Storytime on Thursday, October 29th at 4:30 in LIB 101! We will be reading some of our favorite spooky stories and eating Halloween cookies. If you have a spooky story you want to share, bring it!