From: ksick at nypl.org <ksick>
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 10:14:46 -0400

I was able to attend a presentation by the chairman of the NEA followed by a panel discussion. The census survey inquiry about reading was not elitist. If someone read 5 pages of a Harlequin romance, she would have been counted as a reader. The reader did not need to complete the book for it to count. Data was also collected on books other than literature. A diet book would count, for instance. The results are low in all categories. Librarians need to keep the idea alive that reading is fun in every way possible. James McBride, author of THE COLOUR OF WATER, felt that increasing librarians' salaries and funding for libraries would be a good place to start. It is hard to believe that there are so few readers when one sees the popularity of book discussion groups, Oprah, and the One City-One Book events. Karlan Sick The New York Public Library
Received on Tue 13 Jul 2004 09:14:46 AM CDT