The Malta Library and Information Association (MaLIA) finds it disturbing that a large percentage of the Maltese population, 56 per cent, have not picked a book in a 12-month period and 44 per cent said they did not bother to read even a magazine.
These findings, the result of an NSO survey carried over a sample of 1,000 people, besides not boding well for the future development of our society, also seem to partially explain certain aspects of Maltese life we see around us, for example, the lack of coherence among young and not so young people interviewed in vox pops and surveys, the lack of depth of certain newspaper writers and TV talkers and to a certain degree in some of the interventions made locally by public speakers in the various social, economic and political fora.
Unfortunately, the survey, while not giving comparable figures for the previous decade to see what the situation is really like, looks only at book and magazine reading and not at newspapers. Again, there are no reading habits in other countries to compare figures with.
The lack of reading is worrying because society loses out a great deal when people cannot be bothered to read; and a well-read citizen is definitely a better one. This is more disturbing when the survey tells us that the number of libraries is increasing, the amount of books has gone up and the new ways of reading - technological ones - are becoming more available.
On the positive side, one must mention that the number of professionally-trained library staff, through university and privately organised courses, is increasing. Here, one must mention non-trained staff in various libraries, who, notwithstanding their lack of professional training, are motivated, dedicated and display good managerial abilities.
And yet so many people - and here one must point out that these are mostly the literate section of the population - are reluctant to read. The reasons for this must be several.
Even those who read do so in a rather limited way. The NSO survey does not tell us what kind of books or periodicals people read. Obviously, very few understand or realise the impact reading has on the way we live.
The country loses out in not having a better-informed body of citizens. It makes available the best materials on which the human mind can work and it helps an individual to gain insight, understanding and wisdom. It helps to make society more tolerant and thereby more democratic.
Many books deal with the perennial problems mankind has been facing and is still confronted with. Reading helps people to rely on their own capabilities and be less subservient to the ideas of others.
Reading helps to fire the imagination and makes one realise the variety of interpretation which embody many of the great projects of life. It helps to build a society which is more ready to shoulder its responsibilities and make its members realise the value of the great principles of humanity, solidarity, compassion and understanding.
But what solutions could be suggested to remedy the reading situation in Malta? Firstly, the environment in which we are brought up is important if reading needs to be properly addressed. It is useless to expect our young ones to read if their home background is void of reading material.
Jorge Luis Borges said that he was lucky to have been educated not only in schools, but in his father`s library. He remarked that those books revealed the world to him. Parents influence their children`s reading habits immensely. Reading starts on the parents` laps.
Unfortunately, research in reading habits show that most parents do not encourage their children to read other than for schoolwork.
Children who are encouraged to do so by their parents are more likely to read a higher volume of books. Parents play a focal point in their children`s reading habits.
The state has to realise that a long-term campaign to encourage reading needs to be embarked upon with parents included in its target. Libraries should be marketed as a focal point of modern Maltese societies and money must be invested in attractive and accessible library centres, a modern book stock and a staff re-skilled to meet the varied needs of a modern user population in the new technological age.
Interestingly enough, libraries are still identified as the most common source for books which young people - and to a large extent adults - read, surpassing bookstores or internet sites, friends or family members or gifts. It is, therefore, a pity when one sees the lack of a good, enticing book stock in many of our school libraries and some of our public libraries.
In the main, though not solely, this is due to lack of adequate library funding by the state. However, donations and private funding should be cultivated and encouraged - abroad this happens on a wide scale through philanthropy and institutional support.
Entities like the local councils, EU funds, private entities and individuals both in Malta and abroad should be explored for funding in cash or in kind. But it remains the state`s main responsibility - among its many priorities - to see that the importance of libraries in our society is recognised and adequate budgets are provided.
Notwithstanding the inroads of technology in information provision, books in the English-speaking world are still being published in their millions and new book titles in their thousands. Book readers have never had such a wider choice. The availability of new book titles and new books on Maltese library shelves should help to up the figures of our reading public.
Libraries should be projected as the places of social inclusion, where different kinds of users, including marginalised ones in society, can be helped to improve their life and contribute to the general good.
The reading situation in Malta needs to be studied in-depth, mainly as part of the education drive and efforts made to involve all the parties concerned.
It would be worthwhile to look at a report published a few years ago by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport of the British government. This document, called `The New Library: the People`s Network`, presents a modern vision of the way libraries are integrated in modern society and how they are expected to contribute to the progress of lifelong education, a more contented society and the globalisation of culture, against the background of the challenge of information and communication technologies.
With the introduction of e-government in Malta, libraries could be harnessed to play a vital role. Libraries could be renewed and given new importance by technological investment. Technology should be used to widen libraries` reach within modern society - including the home and the workplace.
The ideal library situation in Malta should aim to deliver resources of information and learning to the whole country. It should interact with museums, galleries, the media, with local and national government, with public services and with agencies in the voluntary and private sectors.
Most of the activities that help in developing reading habits are already being held in Malta. However, these seem to be missing the necessary impact on society. They do not seem to succeed in projecting the necessary message that reading, after all, is worthwhile in life and it is one of the most unique forms of human relationships. Perhaps the National Book Council could coordinate efforts by all concerned and interested in books and reading to organise an upgraded Festival of Books (from the present Book Fair) and really combine the educational, cultural and commercial aspects of such an important event. This could include literary evenings, encouragement of the setting of book clubs and associations.
Another activity which could be looked at and studied by the National Book Council is the use of the media, like the development of book programmes on TV and radio. Popular presenters, authors, foreign writers living or passing through Malta and publishers could be roped in to help in presenting books and literary programmes, for example, of the Per un pugno di libri type on RaiTre.
Books are an attractive commodity. Modern marketing methods needs to be employed in a strong way to promote books and reading.
Mr Grima is chairman of the Malta Library and Information Association.