The information technology is the main rival of the books. The book was earlier the only source of information and knowledge, but now it was replaced by the Internet, which is the source of inspiration of the young generation. Eugenia Bejan, vice director of the National Children’s Library “Ion Creanga”, considers that the children in Moldova now read insufficiently and selectively.
The children read mainly literature required by the school program, but during leisure time those who are fond of reading read only what they like. “We say that the children do not read now, but the literature intended for children of average age and for teens is very poor. The books they like are most often translated. The national literature reflects the adolescents’ life to a very small extent,” stated Eugenia Bejan.
She also said that the stock of children’s books in Romanian on January 1 this year represented 53.2% of the library’s total collection. In the 1990s, the books in Romanian constituted less than 10%. Last year, the acquisitions of books in Romanian represented 18.6%. The copies of every book for children published during the year, which are offered to libraries free, made up 21.8% of the book stock.
Director general of the editorial group “Litera” Anatol Vidrascu said the situation of the book stock in Romanian is yet better that the previous years. By two books in Romanian are published daily. There is published a lot of belletristic works and translations for children. “Readers’ tastes haven’t changed much in the recent past. The dictionaries and encyclopedias take the top positions, followed by specialty literature books for children under 10,” he stated.
He added that the literature written by women for women became very popular in Romania. The situation in Moldova is different. They buy few books in general owing to the shortage of funds and the lack of a culture of reading. Directors of Moldovan libraries established that the number of library readers has increased because many people cannot afford to buy books.
