Opinion | Fading Culture of Reading Books in School Libraries

Let me start this with a beautiful couplet by Francis Bacon that “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested”. Reading books broadens the mental horizon of an individual. Reading provides you with an abundance of knowledge about the past, solutions for the present and ideas for the future. It develops and enlightens thinking, reasoning and cognitive powers. Reading helps to know the reality of a thing. No one can rule out the importance of reading which actually shows us the right path. Reading is good because it improves one’s focus and memory. It can also develop vocabulary and communication. Reading books, magazines, newspapers, journals etc develops memory and knowledge. Reading can allow you to learn new things and develop relationships.

Reading books can reduce  stress and improve mental health. The most important benefit of reading books is learning. It has been observed that reading books can stimulate the network of circuits and signals of the brain. Books provide some of the most engaging entertainment on this planet. The another benefit of reading books Is that they can improve our ability to empathise with others.
Reading books whether in schools, colleges and universities has been fading with each passing day. Its importance is gradually reducing due to technological advancement. Technology has completely eliminated the culture of reading books. However there are profound benefits of reading books, storybooks, novels, poetry etc. Looking in the schools and colleges, students hardly spent their leisure time in school libraries to enhance their knowledge. If we take an example of schools across the state there may hardly be few schools where students may spend their time reading books, but the majority of the schools either don’t have libraries or most students don’t want to spend time reading books. Reading books has immense benefits in terms of its psychological and intellectual. Every book you read offers you the endless opportunities of exploring new ideas.
In contemporary times we have seen the fading culture of reading books especially among adults, they spend much time browsing and playing video games rather than reading books. In schools and colleges the students took much time in playing games and sports and a thin number of students entered into the school library to avail the benefits of reading books, magazines and newspapers. We must set a type of environment in our school where students visit the libraries. It is actually the prime responsibility of the stakeholders to prepare a system for reading, discussing at every school level, so that the students come to know the benefit. Those who frequently visit the school library will definitely benefit. It is the responsibility of stakeholders to upgrade their school libraries so that students may get the habit of reading it. Science and technology has eliminated everything, reading books for hours has been an obsolete act. There are so many reasons that could be held responsible for declining reading culture amongst the youth would be phone addiction.
Reading, no doubt, is a wonderful habit that improves language and increases knowledge, critical thinking, Imagination, clear perspective etc. However, we are living in an era which is described as an age of science and technology, internet, an era of electronic and technological gadgets. It has been observed that people or students prefer to watch videos, lectures, online classes rather than turning the pages of a book. Earlier the book lovers would be holding the book in their hand now it is a mobile which is in the hand once you scroll you would get bulk of information. Present age is the age of the internet and smartphones and excessive use of this has greatly impacted book reading.
In Schools  the students don’t even get time to visit the library because of their heavy and leisure-less time table. Those at the helm of affairs must look into it. They feel it is very troublesome, they should have been given separate time to visit the library and learn the stories, study novels, poetry etc beyond their prescribed syllabus.  The habit of reading which was once considered as a source of great  enjoyment has now been considered as an obsolete as media and entertainment industry has come up with various shows that have glued the audience with screen.There are also some schools where the school library is not available, and some schools don’t have space to keep their books for reading purposes. Finally we can say that reading books nowadays is decreasing with an increasing rate. Schools must create an atmosphere among the students to visit the school library, discuss the issues, problems they face during the course. Those who spend much time in the library can definitely achieve his or her goal. But it is also the responsibility of the stakeholders to update their school libraries to meet the demands of the students. The school plays a major role in developing interest among students for reading. Children should be encouraged to take library classes seriously and it should be made sure that they are reading, not passing time gossiping with their friends. 

– The writer is a teacher by profession and teaches at BHS Diver Lolab. He can be reached at farhaanqysar@gmail.com