KUALA LUMPUR October 1 – A study conducted by the National Library (PNM) found that Malaysians now read an average of 14 books a year, from only two and a half pages about 14 years ago.
This is because of the accessibility of reading materials, physically and online.Literary figure Associate Professor Dr Lim Swee Tin said books were a source of knowledge through which readers could also learn from the experience of others.
“Reading promises an abundance of benefits,” he told Bernama when met after giving a talk on ‘Reading Habit Among Generation Y’ at the World Book Day celebration at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in Nilai recently.
Lim, who is a member of the National Library Advisory Board, said the reading trend among Malaysians now was encouraging with them reading more books now.Statistics obtained from the PNM website showed 72,271 books were borrowed in August this year, an increase of 2,252 books from 70,019 in July.
With the advent in information technology, like Internet and the social media, Lim said the emergence of the electronic book or e-book was a drastic revolution.It changed the reading landscape, from the reading room to anywhere deemed suitable by users of the device, he added.
“Now, there is no problem in getting reading materials. With the press of a button, you can read about the K-Pop singer from South Korea and also on United States President Barack Obama.
“In short, the era of Generation Y is a borderless reading landscape. You can read about anything without having to go to the library,” he added.As such, he said, Malaysians, especially Generation Y, had no excuse for not reading as the facilities were available at their fingertips.
– BERNAMA
