Literacy rates are dropping and it shows.
Literacy has been in a downward spiral since Covid and people’s apprehension to get up and go to a library is not helping. Back on Jan. 29, 2025, the nation’s report card came in and showed a decline in reading comprehension for young students. The report showed a two-point reduction for 4th and 8th graders, furthering the initial three-point decline from 2019 to 2022, according to nagb.gov.
The excuses may be plentiful, but the only real reason why many people don’t want to go is pure laziness. It’s not transportation, not disinterest or the fact libraries are “boring”; not having enough time to go and definitely not the cost. It’s pure, unadulterated laziness.
Any form of critical thinking will combat any argument that comes with this excuse: transportation. Can’t drive? Get someone else to drive. Don’t have anyone else to drive? Bike, skateboard, roller skate, public transport or, oh I don’t know, walk. All information about transportation like costs, location of pickups and time of pickups are all posted on smartbus.org under ‘Select a Community.’
Oh, but libraries are so boring, right? No, no they’re not.
The cool part about time is that it can never repeat. This means that in the big year of 2025, libraries can’t be the same as they were in the 1950s. Crazy, right? So no, the only thing to do in a library is not just read. Not only do many modern libraries have activities such as puzzles or coloring laid out 24/7 they also have pre-planned events. For example, the Shelby Township Library has over 30 events planned on their online calendar for all age ranges. Many of these events are completely free! Attendants also don’t need a library card to attend these events either.
Are the events too late? That’s fair. ‘Late’ is a subjective word, but as a certified grandma, 6 p.m. is not late. I can totally understand being uncomfortable walking home at night or taking public transit, but calling or texting someone to drop off and pick you up after is always an option.
Don’t like reading as a whole? There is no such thing as ‘hating reading’, people just haven’t found the right book for them yet.
Listen, no one here is trying to say what people do and don’t like, because that’s about as subjective as it gets, but it’s difficult to understand people claiming to hate every single book genre. There’s no way. Classics are too boring? Read horror. Horror is too scary? Read fantasy. Fantasy is too ‘out there’? Read non-fiction! The options are endless! Also, not liking books isn’t a valid reason to not go to a library either.
Circling back to the events, it shouldn’t matter if a person enjoys reading or not to go. Majority of the events listed in April have nothing to do with reading, and the ones that do are for free tutoring or teaching young kids how to read. People are out of excuses. Go to the library.
