A call to action for the reading ecosystem

Earlier this year, David Brooks wrote an editorial in the New York Times lamenting what he describes as the diminished role of literature in American life. “There used to be a sense, inherited from the Romantic era,” he writes, “that novelists and artists served as consciences of the nation, as sages and prophets, who could stand apart and tell us who we are.” This is no longer the case, according to Brooks, because of contemporary writers’ failure to resist social pressure—a lack of courage in writing.

I wholeheartedly disagree with his assessment of why contemporary literary fiction is less central to American culture (Ann Patchett posted a pitch-perfect rebuke to Brooks’s piece on Instagram that I highly encourage readers to watch), but it’s hard to argue against data that fewer people are reading books. A new study from University College London and the University of Florida published in iScience found that the share of Americans who reported reading for pleasure fell to 16 percent in 2023—a 40 percent drop over a 20-year period.

With this dismal news, I was heartened to discover an optimistic report, “A Uniquely Portable Magic: Why Book Publishing Has Hope,” from Bain & Company. Despite finding that only about five percent of media consumers’ time is spent with books and audiobooks, the report concludes that publishing has the conditions to thrive.

Based on Bain’s research, books command the highest sustained attention among all media types. People may scroll on their phones while binging the latest streaming series, but their attention is focused exclusively when reading books. What’s more, around 60 percent of U.S. consumers express a strong desire to read more.

In speaking with Nicole Magoon, the lead author of the report, she emphasized three opportunities for the publishing industry—within which she includes libraries. The first is to take control of the narrative by articulating the value and promise of books and reading: “I think it is a really interesting moment where you have to take control, because you could continue this slow decline in the screen-filled world, or you could take advantage of what is there, what is latent that hasn’t been capitalized on.” Unlike the dairy industry’s “Got Milk?” campaign or “5 A Day” from the World Health Organization, she notes, the book industry has not collectively touted the benefits of reading. Developing a strong, consistent message could help elevate reading in ways that draw people in.

The second opportunity calls for the reading ecosystem to build and nurture communities of readers. This is already in the library wheelhouse, but what if we got really serious about setting targets for book club participation or library card sign-ups? How might we harness the passion of BookTok fandom into offline activity that enhances individual and community well-being? We could define the reading equivalent of walking 10,000 steps per day and help readers build the behavior.

The third opportunity area relates to AI. Bain’s research finds more than 70 percent of consumers say they’re less interested in or would not consider reading books generated by AI. In fact, books command the lowest tolerance for AI-generated content compared to any other media type. People value human creativity in books.

Magoon stressed the importance of leveraging this consumer preference immediately, before the landscape is overwhelmed by an influx of AI-generated content. The industry can get ahead by reinforcing why stories developed using human creativity have value. Labeling books explicitly as human-generated (libraries can help here with cataloging) may positively differentiate them in the future media landscape.

As we celebrate a year’s worth of great reading in this annual Best Books issue, I feel a sense of urgency to act on Magoon’s recommendations. I’m confident that libraries can be an important part of the effort to elevate reading to a place of national prominence—but we cannot wait for readers to seek out books. “I really think there are reasons for optimism, but they require doing things,” said Magoon. “It’s not just optimism because the tide is taking us there. It’s optimism because we have a sail, and we can use it, but we have to put it up.”