Current youth reading levels woefully low
The National Book Fair, which ends today, has drawn more than a million readers, publishers and booksellers.
The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand expects book sales to reach 19.6 billion baht this year, a 4.25% increase from 2009.
But book publishers and retailers are pinning their hopes for future growth on the government's Thai Khem Khaeng programme. The investment programme has allocated 450,000 baht for the Office of Non-Formal and Informal Education to fund its 900 or so libraries nationwide to buy books, educational media and materials. The funds will be committed through 2012.
Risuan Aramcharoen, the association's president, said the industry's past growth had been supported mainly by the private sector because the government did not allocate much money for public libraries.
At the moment, several government agencies have become more active in promoting reading in Thailand. And the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has a policy to upgrade all of its public libraries.
The government put reading on the national agenda by announcing the start of the "national decade of reading" last year. The short-term goal is to double the number of books read by Thai youths to 10 a year in 2011. The figure is based on information from the Office of the Basic Education Commission.
The Education Ministry initiated a project where volunteers in every tambon encourage reading as a habit. The pilot project will start next month in five provinces.
"These measures make the government the driving force in providing more books to Thai people," said Ms Risuan. "We need to improve accessibility to books."
Developed countries realise the importance of reading as important habit for young people which helps develop intellect and fosters a love of books they are likely to carry on into adulthood, she said.
Thailand has about 10 million students in the formal education system.
A problem facing Thailand is the quality of books read, particularly among youths, because the Thai education system does not encourage young people to analyse information, she said.
Most Thai educational institutions still use rote-learning which focuses on getting students to remember what is in textbooks in order to pass their exams, rather than teaching them to think about and understand the issues in more detail.
"Reading helps students in their studies," said Ms Risuan. "The educational system needs to change to increase the efficiency in reading and the quality of learning."
Thai youths prefer teenage novels about love and social activities, as there is significant sales growth in this category, said the association, which could not provide specific figures.
The trend started a few years ago with translations of Korean teenage novels, but Thai writers have gained popularity.
Educational cartoons are another growth category, as parents want colourful easy-to-understand books which teach simple lessons to their children.
Religious books have also gained popularity in recent years.
Thais spent an average 296.55 baht on books last year, up slightly from 293.42 baht in 2008, the association said. This shows Thais make a very low investment in "knowledge", she said.
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