Study shows sharp drop in reading habits among young graduates

4

KUCHING: A study conducted by the national library recently has revealed a sharp decline in reading habits among young working adults who have completed their tertiary education.

Malaysian National Library director-general Datuk Raslin Abu Bakar yesterday said many of the university graduates who were involved in the research admitted to have spent much less time reading after they graduated. A similar study on school leavers also revealed the same finding.

He highlighted that it was important to inculcate reading habits among the youths and older generations to promote continuous learning and acquisition of knowledge.

Raslin pointed this out at the official opening of Kampung Sg Bedil village library at Jalan Astana near here. Among those present were Petra Jaya MP Datuk Fadillah Yusof who officiated at the event and state library (Pustaka) Board of Management chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Hamid Bugo.

“For various reasons, these young working adults tend to spend less time reading when compared to their university or schooling days. Study shows that reading was on a decline among these groups after they completed their studies.

“The village library initiative was introduced to promote reading habits among the children, students and also the older generations to inculcate reading habits while encouraging continuous studying,” Raslin added.

To date, more than 1,000 village libraries have been built at various locations nationwide. The state has a total of 207 village libraries.

Advising the community to make full use of the facilities available at their village library, Hamid who spoke earlier, reminded villagers not to be shy in making requests for provision of books of their favourite subjects.

“All in the name of acquiring knowledge, do not hesitate to enquire or make request for the availability of books in your field of interest. Most importantly, make good use of the facilities available,” he urged.

Developed in 2011, the newly-built Kampung Sg Bedil Besar village library possessed a collection of 1,007 various reading materials to date.

Apart from increasing awareness on the importance of continuous learning and expanding the mind of the local community, it is hoped the establishment of the village library programme would improve the reading ability of the people. All these would inadvertently aid their pursuit in skills and knowledge advancement which will help to improve their socio-economy.

Various activities were held in conjunction with the official unveiling of the library such as reading competitions among kindergarten and primary school students, a traditional cooking competition and a flower arrangement contest.