Reading is NOT down.

Don’t let people tell you people are reading less.
We all know library circulation is up across the board (and I don’t believe this is entirely recession-driven either). Now we know books are still OK too:
Anyway, check out this release from the Association of American Publilishers (AAP):
Book Publishing Sales Post Gains in July
“New York, NY, September 23, 2009— Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of July increased by 2.0 percent at $1.54 billion and were up by 1.9 percent for the year.
The Adult Hardcover category was up by 6.9 percent in July with sales of $88.7 million; year-to-date sales were down by 15.5 percent. Adult Paperback sales increased 9.0 percent for the month ($124.0 million) but decreased by 11.2 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category was down 13.5 percent for July with sales totaling $68.2 million; sales were down by 5.3 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category decreased by 5.4 percent for the month with sales of $55.8 million, but sales for year-to-date were up by 22.2 percent. The Children’s/YA Paperback category was up by 4.1 percent in July with sales totaling $58.2 million; sales increased by 2.0 percent for the year.
Audio Book sales posted an increase of 3.5 percent in July with sales totaling $11.7 million; sales to-date decreased by 29.9 percent. E-books sales reached $16.2 million, reflecting a 213.5 percent increase for July, and a 173.9 percent year to-date. Religious Books saw a decrease of 9.3 percent for the month with sales totaling $42.4 million; sales were down by 8.1 percent for the year.
Sales of University Press Hardcover books reflected a 15.1 percent decrease in July with sales of $5.2 million; sales decreased by 8.6 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales posted a decrease of 3.2 percent for the month with sales totaling $8.8 million; sales were down 5.5 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category were up by 13.2 percent in July ($117.7 million) but decreased by 2.3 percent for the year.
Higher Education publishing sales rose by 0.9 percent for the month ($941.5 million) and increased 19.0 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted a decrease of 32.2 percent in July with sales of $675.9 million; the category was down by 27.6 percent for the year.
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.
NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales”
I hear so many people telling eachother stuff about reading (and about kids) that is uninformed by the facts and research. That’s sad.
And we won’t even get into the growth of the web sites, searching, gaming, and downloading music and streaming video. Try and do that with poor reading skills!
Stephen