Not a reading nation

The editorial of The Sunday Times (27 May 2007) commented on the findings of its latest opinion survey that focused on reading habits amongst the Maltese. The opinion survey, conducted by sociologist Mario Vassallo was carried out by telephone amongst 300 households in Malta and Gozo between May 9 and 15.

The editorial commented on the fact that 37.7 percent of those surveyed indicated that they do not like to read despite decades of compulsory education and wide availability of reading materials. The editorial also highlights the fact that most readers limit their reading activities to daily newspapers and how the advent of the Internet, it seems, has had a negative impact or reading habits amongst the Maltese.

The concluding paragraphs of the editorial remark that there is still a lot to be done to get people to read more and indicate schools and their role in fostering reading.

MaLIA would like to emphasise the role of school and public libraries as pivotal in promoting reading amongst all sectors of our society. This fact, was sadly missing from the editorial of The Sunday Times.

To read the editrorial, click here.

To read the article on the opinion survey, click here. The conclusions are also available.