{"id":13761,"date":"2026-10-23T12:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/?p=13761"},"modified":"2026-10-23T12:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:52:21","slug":"national-reading-group-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/national-reading-group-month\/","title":{"rendered":"National Reading Group Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">October is National Reading Group Month! <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Have you ever been in a reading group? Now is a great time to start one! <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The data on literacy and book reading behavior in the United States isn\u2019t 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 \u2013 here are a few that stood out to me recently, which come from this study by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amacad.org\/humanities-indicators\/public-life\/book-reading-behavior\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">American Academy for Arts and Sciences<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">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%.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">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%<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Usually when we hear about the decline in reading rates, most of the blame gets put on younger generations \u2013 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 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/chart\/book-reading-habits-in-the-u-s-vary-by-education-age-and-other-factors\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Pew Research Center<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> shows surprising results! Young people (ages 18-25) reported the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">highest<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> rates of reading of any age group! (It\u2019s 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 \u2013 you&#8217;ll also notice that audiobooks and ebooks make up a larger portion of young people\u2019s reading material). Still, I love to see any statistic that is hopeful about turning the tide on our declining reading statistics! <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How does this relate to reading groups? Well, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amacad.org\/humanities-indicators\/public-life\/book-reading-behavior\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">American Academy for Arts and Sciences<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> 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. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So, what can <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">you<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> do to bump up our reading statistics? Start a reading group! And how convenient that October is National Reading Group Month. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Check out this <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/libguides.ala.org\/bookdiscussiongroups\/startguide\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">guide from the American Library Association<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> on starting your own reading group. Looking for a book recommendation? Come talk to your librarians! <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the spirit of reading together, the Library is also hosting a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clark.edu\/about\/calendars\/events.php?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D1451325230\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Spooky Storytime<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> on Thursday, October 29<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> 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! <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October is National Reading Group Month! \u00a0 Have you ever been in a reading group? Now is a great time to start one! \u00a0 The data on literacy and book&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":13764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[392],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-college-libraries"],"views":78,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13762,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13761\/revisions\/13762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarkcollegelibraries.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}