Readers Who Can't Read

I love reading. Everyone who knows me well will probably have that as one of the first things to say about me. Growing up I would read anywhere and at any opportunity - I read while walking in the mall, I read in the kitchen while making coffee for my mom, I read in company and I read when my parents were driving us somewhere. Even today I am never without a book no matter where I am going.

A few years ago, I worked in a bookshop and was surprised to find out that some of my colleagues back then did not even like reading. Then I had the privilege to start working in a library, where I am still happily working today (my wife will tell you that she does not know anyone else who is so happy to go to work each morning); and here I met with a curious phenomenon. There are readers who cannot or will not read.

Now do not get me wrong, I am not talking about the illiterate and semi-literate who cannot or struggle to read because they did not have the means to go to school. Those we need to help as far as possible, because it is a real shame that there are people in the 21^st century who are unable to read, even though they would love to have the skill. I am also not talking about the blind, some of them read more than any of us using the braille script or making use of audio books. No, what I am talking about is people who apparently love reading but who simply do not read what is in front of them.

They read their books all right, but there it stops. Now let me backtrack here for a second. I said I read everywhere and anywhere, even while my parents were driving us somewhere (when I was a kid that is, will not try that now). The unfortunate result was that I did not learn how to read directions. When I got my driver’s licence later, I could understand the road signs obviously and follow them, but I still struggled to follow the road to where I wanted to go and sometimes relied heavily on GPS.

Then I got married and my wife told me – “Love, read the signboards… for someone who loves reading you surprise me” (oh, she will be pleased when she reads this). Slowly but surely, I realised my ignorance – I refused to even look at those signboards, I did not read, as simple as that. Yes, sometimes the signboards are very confusing for me, but if I slow down, change to a slower lane, and then focus on really reading the signboard – enlightenment. It took me a while, and I am not ashamed to acknowledge that sometimes on a longer road I will still panic a bit.

So, when I started working at the library, I met more of these kind of readers like I once was. A library, as I surely hope all my readers know, is a place where you get information. The building is filled with books, audio books and DVD’s, Internet and Wi-Fi are available and there is space for students to study. There are also notices on the door. It is here, with the notices, where the problem starts.

It happens that sometimes we need to inform the public of certain things that will happen or need to be done. Some of the notices give information as to which libraries are specifically for students, there are notices informing the public of the opening and closing times and another that points out what is needed for a member of the public to become a member of the library. Some circumstances are also out of our control and sometimes we need to close for some reason determined by upper management, or because we are not allowed to work our normal hours. The notices are all there.

Some people scan some of these notices. Please notice that I wrote ‘scan’ and not ‘read’. Many do not even see them. How it is possible is an ongoing debate between my colleagues. Before the pandemic, we had a big struggle to get those non-reading readers to see our opening and closing hours which were painted on the window. We even have the hours on the back of the membership cards – in vain.

Now, due to the pandemic, our hours change regularly (especially after one of the now regular national family meetings). Every time this happens, we put a large notice up on the door itself, at face level of most adults, explaining why the hours have changed, with our apologies for the inconvenience and with the hours in big bold numbers. While we must still work inside, even though we are sometimes closed to the public, it is amusing to see some, standing right in front of the notice, trying to look past it while hoping to catch our attention. It is a bit distracting, so one of us might walk over and indicate to the sign (did I say it was there all the time?); the “aha” moment of some is amazing.

As a reader I really like the fact that I am surrounded by other readers every day. But to all those who do not read the notices I want to give the same advice as my wife gave me – ‘please read the notices, for someone who loves reading you guys really surprise me sometimes…’ Who knows, you might just get the information you need.