“To read or not to read?” – a question that may become irrelevant
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Without colluding, once a year intelligent and knowledgeable people in different countries speak and write about the benefits of books and reading. Yes, today, April 23, is World Book and Copyright Day. With each passing year, it becomes more and more like a mantra – the repetition of what is obvious to a part of humanity, but not at all understandable to the rest. Does reading books alone guarantee a good education? And who needs it now? To find out every day from Telegram channels that they are getting rich thanks to speculation on the stock markets, cutting the state budget, smuggling, successful margins or subjugation of Tik-Tok? Education reform in Ukraine has been talked about for a long time and a lot, now they started talking about reducing the number of subjects, which is commendable, but I am horrified to think about how this will affect the study of literature. No, not like that! How will it affect the reading of fiction. Is it necessary to “study” literature in high school? Maybe we should focus on teaching children to read every day, get pleasure from it, distinguish really good literature from dross? At the same time, it is worth developing critical thinking – from a young age. There are also special texts and special technologies for this. Read also: How we (don’t) read during the war Do you know that American children in junior high school are sure that they have to go to the library every week to return the book they read and get a new one? They are also sure that it is possible to talk interestingly about what they have read, to draw, to put on a play “based on the motives”. Do you know how they know this? Because they live like this, and their parents don’t think about why their community should keep a library. Trustee library committees make sure that there are the best and most relevant books. Why? Because it is necessary. Because it is difficult to get a good education, find a prestigious job, an interesting social circle, if you do not read fiction. Professionals who communicate with people at work, even if they are doctors, talk about how fiction helps them to be empathetic, to understand their patients and their loved ones, with whom communication is a difficult matter. I am not even talking about psychologists and psychotherapists, who can find prototypes of almost all of their clients in novels. So, there are happy societies where reading books enters a person’s life almost with mother’s milk, but there are us – and we have a shortage of positive examples to follow. Because there is a war and other priorities. “How can you even think about books and libraries now, when all the funds should be directed to the front? All this should be put on hold until our Victory,” the Ministry of Finance said. “We really want to help. We are ready to conduct training courses and seminars for publishers and librarians so that they learn to work in difficult conditions,” these are friendly professional structures from abroad. “Ukrainian literature is not translated much, we will help you to ensure that Ukrainian translations are in every bookstore”, is a large international fund, offering a grant of 25 thousand dollars. Read also: “There is no cheer, patriotism and pathos in the books of the military”, – military researcher Marina Ryabchenko And how to explain to them (of course, with great gratitude for solidarity and advice) that now it is Ukrainian publishers and librarians who are experts in surviving in crisis conditions that will teach anyone? That even $2.5 million, not to mention $25,000, is not enough for Ukrainian translations to “be everywhere”. Do you know how much 2.5 million dollars will be enough for? 300 books for translation. And they still need to be printed and advertised, discussed, convinced bookstores to take them up for sale, and libraries to buy them from funds. And the most important thing. How to convince the President, People’s Deputies and the Government of our country that the support of the book sector and the development of reading “until Victory” cannot be postponed, that the recently adopted Strategy for the Development of Reading, developed by MKIP and the Ukrainian Book Institute, should be implemented immediately, allocating the necessary 1-2 billion hryvnias for all planned directions: replenishment of library funds, including school libraries, support for writing and publication of new books, support for translations, promotion in Ukraine and abroad, and even for the use of books to overcome PTSD, to form conscious, realized, happy and mentally healthy people? I am convinced that they will help us overcome the enemy and in the future Ukraine will become truly independent among the EU countries and under the protection of NATO. But to decide once and for all “To read or not to read?” we have ourselves. Because how will we be in the EU, where everyone reads and goes to libraries, except us? Shall we catch up? We may not have time. Read also: Russian woman will not chair the jury of the Andersen Prize. Will it help the reputation of the “Children’s Nobel”? Reference In Ukraine in 2022, no more than 800 publishing houses published books, but 75% of them published 1-2 titles each. The output of market books halved in terms of titles and tripled in circulation. Funds from the state budget to replenish library funds were not allocated either in 2022 or 2023. And if we all do not start fighting for our right to read together, they will not be available in 2024 either. Read UP. Culture in Telegram
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