Olin Library is home to an eclectic yet familiar group of regulars.
Among them are the procrastinators, who always seem to be doing anything but the assignment in front of them; the straight-A students furiously scribbling away on their problem sets; the people-watchers; and those click-clacking away on their essay due probably within the hour.
All these common characters lean on Olin as their go-to study space, but how many of them have explored the over one million volumes around them?
The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported an increase in the number of young students lacking fundamental reading skills, due in large part to the lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and to social media apps like TikTok continuously shortening attention spans.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, approximately 37% of adults had read a novel or short story in the past year, a decrease from around 40% in 2017 and 45% in 2012.
The 2022 survey also reported the lowest proportion of adults reading fiction in the U.S. in the survey’s 44-year history.
If recent studies are any indication, reading for pleasure could soon become a dying art.
However, students can still reignite the spirit of reading on the University’s campus by fully engaging with the University’s extensive library catalog.
“With two exceptions, we don’t separate ‘pleasure reading’ from the general collection, either in the stacks or online,” Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian Andrew White wrote in an email to The Argus. “The two exceptions are general science interest/science fiction on the first floor of the Science Library, and the graphic novels collection in the Smith Reading Room in Olin. The distinction between reading for pleasure and reading for other reasons is subjective, and today’s pleasure reading is tomorrow’s subject of academic study.”
Olin’s physical collection consists of over one million books, the majority of which are housed in the stacks, a seemingly immeasurable expanse of fully packed, floor-to-ceiling shelves spanning each floor of the library.
Although the stacks present students with a wealth of reading options, some are easily overwhelmed by the space and opt to spend their free time outside the library’s labyrinth of texts. Even self-proclaimed book lovers like Ellie Keane ’29 struggle with this challenge.
“I’ve never checked a book out of the library,” Keane said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been taught how to get a book from the Wesleyan library. I’m assuming you would just go up to the counter, but honestly, I have no idea.”
While Keane engages in reading for pleasure even without using the library’s resources, many of her peers do not.
“I don’t know anyone around me who checks out books from Olin to read for fun,” Keane said. “That makes me really sad because reading is such a privilege and such a joy.”
On the other hand, Dikshya Kuikel ’26, president of the Wesleyan Book Club, regularly checks out books for the club’s monthly read and requests that Olin Library purchase specific texts for the club.
Kuikel added, “[When] there are classics that I want to read, I know for sure that Wesleyan is going to have them. So I go pretty often.”
While the stacks can be confusing for the casual reader, checking out books from Olin can be as easy as asking for help at the reception desk or requesting a book online.
“I do think that not many people use the resources at Olin,” Kuikel said. “My friends, because we all really like to read, use Olin to [its] fullest…. We are seniors, so we know our way around [the library], but I don’t think people on campus are using Olin or know of the resources [there].”
Olin is only one example of the many libraries across the nation seeing decreasing rates of book borrowing.
“While students still borrow the most books of anyone on campus, the overall circulation of physical books continues to trend downward,” White wrote. “Conversely, the overall circulation of digital books continues to grow. This is true across academic libraries globally.”
Some factors that could contribute to this downward trend include “declining attention spans, changes in approaches to reading at the secondary school level, media saturation across formats, busy lives, [and] academic responsibilities,” White wrote.
Although public attitudes and relationships with libraries are constantly changing, students like Keane and Kuikel are doing their part in keeping reading culture alive at the University.
The Wesleyan Book Club meets twice monthly to discuss the selected book of the month, building a community of both hard-core and casual readers around campus.
“We’re a pretty small group, but we’re very cozy and comfortable,” Kuikel said. “This month, we’re reading ‘Heated Rivalry’ by Rachel Reid, because it’s just so popular right now. I recommend everyone [come] to the book club. It’s not an English class, you’re not required to participate, but it would be wonderful to just share opinions on books and talk about how much we love reading.”
Keane offered a less structured approach to those interested in immersing themselves in reading for pleasure.
“I think one way to get passionate about reading is to just find a good book,” Keane said. “I think that really does it. That feeling when you’re reading a book and you just fall completely into it, and you stop thinking about anything else in life is just so magical, and I think everyone should get to experience that.”
Instead of focusing solely on a change in personal habits, there may be steps the University can take to reignite the general population’s passion for reading. Keane and Kuikel offered suggestions to make Olin’s stacks accessible to all.
“I think it would be really awesome to have an open house for students, where we could get tours of the stacks to see where all the popular books are, because no one really wants to read governmental documents, and that’s a big section in Olin,” Kuikel said. “We try to order popular books all the time [for Wesleyan Book Club].…Having an open house or promoting [Olin’s collection] more on the Wesleyan Instagram would show students that, yes, we have a really great catalog for people to find books to read and enjoy.”
Keane added that having visual reminders of Olin’s book borrowing instructions and policies may boost the number of books checked out.
“I think a good idea could be to have posters somewhere pasted around the library that say how to check out a book,” Keane said. “I think if I saw those, I would be like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. I want this book. Maybe I should just see if the library has it.’ But I am just not being reminded of that when I go into Olin.”
White emphasized the importance of taking full advantage of Olin’s current resources, including the library’s extensive catalog and student research opportunities.
“Talk to a librarian and make an appointment for a personal research session,” White wrote. “Know that research does not always begin and end online. Be curious. Look at the exhibits, and let them spark your imagination and lead you to more questions. Wander the stacks. Study alone or together. Join the conversation. Think of the library as the original [large language model], with your brain as the algorithm.”
Each book stored in Olin’s stacks and throughout campus can spark a new literary adventure, introspective discovery, or research project. It may be time for students to recognize the true wealth of knowledge within reach inside their favorite study space.
“Reading, which offers new and conflicting ideas and opportunities to develop and practice empathy for others, can be a lifelong pleasure, regardless of format,” White wrote. “It has certainly brought meaning to my own life. Libraries should encourage this, both on campuses and off. Use and support your local public library, whether here in Middletown, your hometown, [or] wherever your life takes you.”
Leah Ziskin can be reached at lziskin@wesleyan.edu.
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