In England, approximately 16.4% of adults in England have what is classed as ‘very poor literacy skills.’
This means that there are a whopping 7.1 million people right here on our doorstep that are unable to absorb important information easily or communicate and engage with society effectively. This impacts not only their own lives with regards to employability and productivity but also those of their children, whose own literacy journey will no doubt also be affected.
Imagine not being able to read a book or newspaper, interpret a road sign, make sense of a train timetable, fill out a form, or even understand a price label. Scary, hey? But this is the reality for many.
KPMG estimates that low levels of literacy weakens the UK’s economic competitiveness to the tune of £2.5 billion every year, hitting taxpayers right in their pockets.
As communications professionals here at WorkPR, to whom literacy dictates almost everything in our lives, these kinds of stats are simply unacceptable. But what can be done to ensure that future generations don’t succumb to such fates?
Well to celebrate World Literacy Day, we’re putting out a very simple message, and that is to ‘Protect our public libraries!’
The decline in library usage
A 2019 report showcased that over 380,000 children and young people in the UK didn’t own a book of their own, and with the cost of living soaring at its current rate, it’s likely that this situation won’t improve any time soon. This is why public libraries still have the potential to play such an important role in modern society.
According to CIPFA, however, the number of in-person visits to libraries across the UK dropped from 335 million in 2005 to 215 million in 2019/20 due to a vicious circle of low funding, causing the provision of a poorer service, and of course the rise in digital.
In 2019 Attest reported that 38.4% of millennials in the UK owned an eReader device, negating their need to borrow physical books. Furthermore, stats show that circa 88.1% of the population had access to a smartphone, thus having an encyclopaedia right at their fingertips, and reducing the need for a trip to the library.
But as we all know, if these kinds of public service aren’t properly utilised, they will disappear, as was evidenced by the closure of some 773 library branches in 2019/20. National spending on the library service was reduced by a quarter of a billion pounds in the 10 years preceding, further escalating the decline.
This does not paint a pretty picture for the future of the public library service. But is this simply because libraries are suffering from a spot of poor marketing? After all, where better to sit and read, for free, than in the warmth of your local library, especially at a time when disposable income is low, but utility prices are high?
The PR problem
Libraries have innate PR issues. The perception that libraries are just for scholars and the elderly is sorely outdated and needs tackling in order to attract a younger audience who would so clearly benefit from its services.
Inclusivity is key here. To be included in society you need to be able to read. And a library can help you do that. But if you don’t feel welcome at a library, if it doesn’t FEEL inclusive, you won’t go there to better your reading. And so the cycle begins again.
Libraries have the potential to help bridge the widening societal gaps that can impede upon a child’s opportunity to develop and progress academically. You just need to encourage the kids into the library and then incentivise them to stay.
The annual Summer Reading Challenge has made an excellent start at this. Launching in 1999, it touts itself as the nation’s biggest reading for pleasure programme by basically rewarding kids to borrow and read books during the lengthy summer break from school.
Currently, 700,000 children across the UK take part every summer, increasing library footfall during the summer months and maintaining literacy confidence when in-school education grinds to a halt.
The message here – make reading fun, and accessible, and children will want to get involved. And it’s not just about reading either, there are a plethora of benefits of having a free library membership.
Why should people use the library?
There are many arguments as to how public libraries can help the literacy of both children and adults alike, but here are our top eight other reasons to take a visit:
- It creates a love of reading from an early age and allows easy exploration of genre to establish preference and increase enjoyment.
- Having access to a broad spectrum of reading materials, written in different styles can help to improve vocabulary, particularly in the young.
- Why encourage reading on screens or technology when it is known to affect eyesight? Time spent away from the home, school or week in such a productive and stimulating manner is better for everyone.
- Libraries often don’t just have books to borrow. They offer a variety of other activities such as mother and baby groups, reading clubs, personal development classes and craft sessions, so it can improve our social lives too.
- Libraries get a lot of books donated, which means sometimes, there is a need to offload some stock. Book sales at libraries are often a great way to purchase some new reading material at a minimal cost.
- Borrowing books from a library can help build a sense of responsibility in children. Taking care of something that isn’t theirs for a short while, and then returning it on time so as not to incur a fine is quite an adult thing to undertake.
- The internet has its plusses and its minuses, one of which being that the information on there is not always the most reliable. Do you know what is reliable? The reference section in a library.
- The peace, quiet and tranquillity of a library is something quite wonderful in the midst of real life. There is nothing quite like getting lost in a book, and there is nowhere better to do it.
