Local bookstores offer ways to combat declining national literacy

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– The literacy rates have been decreasing in the U.S. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1 in 5 adults, or 43 million Americans, possess low literacy rates. Meaning a person has a limited ability to read, write, and comprehend written text well enough to get through everyday life.

"The literacy rates have been falling for many years," Amanda Poitevin, owner of The Book Shelf, said. "And I think it's just a huge thing to reincorporate reading into your daily life."

Reading anything, whether it's a comic book or thousand paged novel, reading anything can be beneficial to keeping your literacy rate high.

"Reading is really important for multiple reasons," Whitney Holmes, the co-owner of Winnie and Mo's Bookshop, said. "As a kid, if you read, you do better later in life economically but also socially and emotionally. You should just read what you love. So if that's comics, if that's newspaper articles, if that's fantasy, or nature, just read it."

Shopping at our local bookshops can help you build a community.

"Local bookshops are a hub of community," Poitevin said. "Their hub of intellectual life. Their hub of reading, of course, and connection."

Supporting local book stores also supports the economy. According to American Express, for every dollar spent in a local store, about 67 cents stays in the local community versus only 45 cents from corporate stores.

"Those dollars that you spend stay local and that includes tax dollars," Holmes said. "It also includes things like paying people salaries and creating jobs, but also it creates a sense of connection."

And for used bookstores, it's all about giving old favorites a new chapter and sharing the knowledge with the community.

"People are able to bring in their books and then we take them for cash or trade credit," Poitevin said. "I really love that aspect to where it's just a really lovely cycle. And I'm glad to keep the books local to rather than selling them online where they're not going to be local."

If you are interested in supporting local book stores, but you prefer e-books or audiobooks, there are alternatives!

Libro.fm offers a chance to purchase your favorite audiobooks. Bookshop.org has both ebooks and recently published books. When you purchase from either retailer, a local bookstore of your choice will receive a percentage of the proceeds.