The book forms part of our cultural heritage and transmits knowledge accumulated during centuries. The book enables us to be better in this imperfect world. Regrettably, for a significant part of the young generation, reading is not an ordinary educational activity, especially at school, National Library director general Elena Pintilei stated in an international conference entitled “Reading as basis for culture, knowledge and development” that was held in Chisinau on September 30, IPN reports.
“Together we will try to determine the cause for such a situation so as to broach the reading culture phenomenon that, together with the capacity to navigate through the world of information, includes such concepts as love for the book, interest in reading, ability to understand the read text. This concept has a special meaning nowadays, when the reading situation is very tense. The time allocated for reading by a contemporary person continues to diminish. The reading circle becomes narrower and literary gestures become more primitive for some. Experts of the University of Oxford ascertained that when a person reads, the same parts of the brain as when we see the scenes described in the book ourselves are activated. For example, Professor John Stein said: we are so used to what is happening that the brain reacts to the book in the same way as if it effectively took part in what is described. In other words, the hypothesis that a reader lives a thousand lives is very close to reality,” stated Elena Pintilei.
She noted that a group of scientists during six years studied almost 300 seniors. “It turned out that the persons who read more than the average during the lifetime had by 32% less risks of having memory problems, while the persons who didn’t ready at all lose memory by 48% faster. Another research carried out by Stanford University showed that analytical reading and reading for pleasure only produce different types of emotions at neurological level, each of these being a beneficial exercise for human brain. If reading helps a person to self-determine and develop, culture becomes a kind of basis for the development of the personality, which is for culture, knowledge and development” said Elena Pintilei.
Writer Gheorghe Erizanu, founder and director of the publishing house “Cartier”, said that according to the data of the National Book Chamber, about 2,500 book titles appear in Moldova annually. There are about 2 million books on the book market of Moldova. In 2020, the figure stood at 2.3m, in 2019 – at 1.8m, in 2016 – at 3m.
Writer Oleg Serebrian, Moldova’s Ambassador to Germany, noted that they now read more than 40-50 years ago, but something else is read and books can disappear in the near future, together with newspapers. For example, in Germany they read a lot, but primarily in electronic form. The quality of reading leaves to be desired and the library plays a role here.
The international conference “Reading as basis for culture, knowledge and development” is at its third edition. Its goal is to combine the forces of libraries, education institutions, creation organizations, communities and responsible bodies to develop reading and reading culture as a basis for knowledge and ascent.
