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Evidence has been steadily mounting of Americans' declining interest in reading. A 2025 study from researchers at the University of Florida and University College London reported that daily reading for pleasure in the United States dropped by more than 40% in the last two decades, with pronounced declines among black, low-income, and rural Americans. This trend has led some to say that America is becoming a "post-literate society," which could lead to the "death of democracy." The question is what to do about it.
Despite being one of the few public institutions in a position to promote reading culture, public libraries have largely gone unmentioned in this debate. No one would blame libraries exclusively for Americans' giving up on reading; our society is saturated with smartphones and other potent distractions. But when the reading crisis became evident, libraries had one job — and thus far, they've let us down.
Although libraries have shied away from the decline-of-reading debate, they've staked out a more prominent role in culture-war controversies, including the fracas over "banned books," the meaning of free speech, and the types of reading material appropriate for children. Librarians, one of the most progressive professional groups in America, picked those fights. Their politicization of libraries in the 21st century has been lamentable. A depoliticized public library would be an improvement on the current model, but that alone would not be enough to revive America's reading culture.
Today's libraries have embraced an agenda of redundancy, taking on functions — technology center, daytime homeless shelter, blank-canvas community center, bulwark of democracy — that are either unnecessary or already performed by other public agencies or private groups. These identities have gained too much influence in recent years, all at the expense of libraries' traditional role as a modest cultural institution dedicated to serious books and quiet study. By undermining any sense of institutional integrity, librarians have done far more than the conservative cultural warriors they denounce to erode public libraries' justification for existence.
Continue reading the entire piece here at National Affairs
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Stephen Eide is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.