I read online today that the city of Laredo, Texas, population 250,000, is losing its last bookstore. In a city with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country, it is a tragedy. Truthfully, it is a tragedy by any calculation. A city without a bookstore is unimaginable.
Granted, there are other means of securing books. One can always go to the Internet and purchase books on Amazon.com. But let's be honest...in a situation where the literacy rate is so low, how many people do you think will take the trouble to go to the Internet to purchase a book? And...if illiteracy is so prevalent, what is the possibility that the Internet is even an option?
The library is a good option, and the Laredo Public Library indicates that they are busy. But the ability to own a book, especially for a young child, is something special, bringing with it an urgency to learn to master the skills of reading and writing.
Bookstores may be one of those places that we take for granted because we have them. And in places like Providence, they are plentiful. There is a variety of bookstores available and they all seem to be busy. Some are equipped with cafes and comfortable sofas; others are strictly stores with books for sale.
But overall, I am concerned about literacy in this country. From an early history of rampant illiteracy we sprang to being a country in which literacy was a significant value. With the onset of a more permissive society since the 60's, however, the prioritizing of literacy has slipped and continues to decline. Public education scrambles to improve the situation but serious involvement in education is hit-and-miss in both urban and rural settings.
Family prioritizing of reading has been replaced with addiction to television, video games, personal communication tools, and ipods. The practice of reading and writing with these instruments has been reduced to a whole new language with a form which rejects literary methods. Writing with a pen or pencil seems like it is limited to signing one's name on a credit card receipt.
Giving books as holiday gifts is a way to reverse this trend. Families who have "reading nights" when electronic instruments and television are turned off find their children engrossed in reading. Communities that sponsor summer read-a-thons, with prizes for children who read a hundred books experience the same kind of excitement. But that's a pretty middle-class picture, and a limited one at that.
It is an awesome thing to see the children in deprived societies clamor for the books which not-for-profit agencies distribute to them. They are highly-valued possessions. Perhaps it is abundance in our society that undermines that same kind of enthusiasm for reading. Harry Potter was a temporary reprieve from the slippery slope, and there is some hope that the vampire craze will copy it. But those are flash-in-the-pan kinds of things unless some intentional energy is exerted between popular publications.
I have a partial solution to this dilemma that swirls around in my head. I wonder what the result would be if there was an intentional project to show movie stars, rock musicians, athletes and other cultural icons reading and encouraging reading. (Assuming of course, that they can read.) I fear that reading has become characterized by many young people as a geeky thing...something that isn't cool. It couldn't be a temporary, seasonal issue, but something that became a regular part of television, movie, and magazine display for a decade or more. I'm not naive enough to believe that it, alone, would turn the nation around, but it might have an impact on a significant number of children and young people.
I hope some company will read the article in today's news about Laredo and rush down there and open a flashy, inexpensive, and bi-lingual bookstore. And then I hope the schools in Laredo make an effort to encourage the purchase and ownership of books as valued friends.
(Photo Credit: The Literacy Project.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment