Malta may have placed bottom of a 2008 Eurobarometer survey as the nation that reads the least but according to a new study commissioned by the Book Council, the Maltese may not be so averse to reading after all.
“We were not satisfied with just one question in a European survey on whether respondents had read a book in the last year or not,” council chairman Ġorġ Mallia said, explaining the council’s decision to conduct the survey.
The result of the Eurobarometer survey made for harrowing reading as it emerged that 54 per cent of the population had not read a book in the previous year.
The result of the fresh survey, conducted by Misco, which is being used to aid the council in its work, is certainly more encouraging – 86 per cent of the sample of 500 fit the profile of a reader.
This means people read books at least once every two months, read articles in magazines or newspapers at least once every two weeks, or read articles online at least once every week.
The remaining 14 per cent were divided among those who could not read and those who did not have the interest or the no patience to read while others said they had no time for reading.
Newspapers and magazines were the most read, with 74.4 per cent of respondents saying they read these at least once every two weeks. Despite widespread technology, those who read online articles and those who don’t were equally divided, while only 47.3 per cent read books once a month.
English, with its wider range of material, is the preferred language to read in, with 85.4 per cent of mentions. The Maltese language lagged slightly behind, with 79.8 per cent of mentions. Italian, a language usually absorbed through television, clocked up 15.9 per cent of mentions.
Reading also tended to be more prevalent in the higher strata of society, among those who also owned more books. Evenings are the preferred reading times, with bedtime reading being popular with teenagers and those aged 35-44. Those over 66 tend to prefer the afternoons for a read.
Non-fiction books top adult readers’ preferences, with novels and biographies also being popular. Children, on the other hand, go for adventure, fantasy and humour.
The book council will also be taking books to clinics and hospitals in a trolley to encourage reading further.
“I’m not euphoric about the results,” Education Minister Dolores Cristina said at the event heralding the survey’s findings at the Aċċess centre in Qawra.
This study, however, was not as pessimistic as previous ones and helped policymakers understand what was taking the place of the book, Ms Cristina said. Illiteracy had to be fought, and she commended organisations such as the Paolo Frere Institute which helped adults learn how to read and write.
The survey showed illiteracy was most common among those aged 45 and over, the majority of whom had only studied up to primary level and came from working-class families.