I was sent the text of a report authored by Kathi Inman Berens PhD, and Rachel Noorda PhD, both of Portland State University, Oregon, based on data collected in 2022 on the use of libraries and books in the US. Dr Berens is a Fulbright Scholar of digital culture, prize winning author and Associate Professor of Book Publishing and Digital Humanities. Dr Noorda is Director and Associate Professor of Publishing. Her research is mainly on consumer behaviour, marketing and entrepreneurship in the book industry.

The main point of their research is that 54% of Gen Z and Millennials visited a physical library within the previous 12 months. This is considerably high use of libraries in this age of electronics and the availability in-house of all information via Internet etc.

The two terms used above need clarification here. “Millennials or the millennial generation is defined as those “born between 1981 and 1996, which means anyone between the ages of 24 and 39 in 2020. This age range, like other generational cohorts, is chosen for statistical analysis of certain trends rather than being a strict identifier.”

“Gen Z or Generation Z is the name for the generation that follows Millennials. It is the name given to the current generation of young people by many demographic researchers. According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z consists of people born between 1997 and 2012. Google Trends data show that Generation Z is far outpacing other names in people’s searches for information. While there is no scientific process for deciding when a name has stuck, the momentum is clearly behind Gen Z.”

The repor

Getting back to the Berens – Noorda report, of the 2075 Gen Z and Millennials surveyed in 2020, more than half reported they visit libraries and also borrow from a library’s digital collection. “The data also revealed younger Americans’ distinct preference for physical version of books; these young ones read and bought on average twice as many print books per month as any other category.” Thus Dr Noorda, accepting this find as ‘great news,’ commented: “Not only are younger generations of people reading books, buying books and visiting libraries, but they are also engaging with other forms of media. They are gamers, readers, writers and fans who are comfortable with the malleability between media categories and forms.”

Change to suit times

I write about this use of libraries in America because it is excellent news for librarians; me being one. I well remember that at a summer course in Wales in the early 1970s the fear being expressed that the book was surely going the way of dinosaurs to extinction and computers would take over. Book libraries too were on the way out to obsolescence. That meant the redundancy of librarians. Thus the first move: name change from Librarian to Information Scientist, Documentalist etc.

Then libraries changed from being somber, silence-demanding, book lined places with a commanding librarian as supervisor to a completely user friendly, relaxed space of various media, with the book still upfront and taken down and read. Libraries transformed to media centres and some went to the extent of having coffee and snacks on hand.

Silence boards were thrown out even in still conservative libraries. With social media taking over, books were relegated to second place, but still of importance and interest Thus the sheer delight in reading the report I mention above which affirms more than half of the American young adult population is actually visiting physical (against) virtual libraries and reading or borrowing paper-printed books. Great! This applies, I am certain to other advanced countries too.

The President of the American Library Association (ALA), Emily Drabinski adds: “These digitally-immersed generations make clear that libraries are about more than books. Programming relevant to teens and their parents – coding clubs, job application help, gaming, draws even non-readers to the library as does the physical space to connect and collaborate.”

Over here in SL

Thank goodness in a way that Sri Lanka is somewhat backward. Many of our libraries remain as they have always been, book dominated. But many are computerized now, multi-media stocked, and the emphasis moved to users and the concept of dissemination of knowledge. I shudder to think there may be school libraries, even public, that still have books in locked glass fronted cupboards – not open shelving – and a martinet of a librarian guarding the books.

The most encouraging feature connected to reading and books is that both are still very popular across the board. We had a high literacy rate from way back and though the majority suffered the disadvantage of not having much money, reading and books were always held in high esteem. Public libraries were heavily patronized. With the help of organizations such as Room to Read, Dharmavijaya and many others, school libraries were either set up in the recent past or developed. Testimony to the fact that almost all Lankans love and revere books and reading is the large numbers that attend the annual Colombo Book Fair. A very heartening sight is a parent or elder, carrying book parcels and hurrying children to bus halts down Baudhaloka Mavata. Thank goodness! The printed book lives on, and is read.

Tradition in Britain

Every country has its traditions. Britain has more than most; carefully preserved and faithfully followed and practiced for centuries. One such is the Throne Speech delivered by the reigning monarch at each state opening of Parliament for the year. This started in the late 14^th century and in its present style in 1852 when Parliament was rebuilt after the great fire.

Traditional customs are unchanged; the monarch and consort arrive in a special gilded carriage in full regalia, the monarch wearing the bejeweled Imperial State Crown Queen Elizabeth II delivered 67 Throne speeches.

This year it was a king who read what the government intended to do in the year ahead, after seven decades. King Charles III and Queen Camilla took centre stage on November 7, 2023, at Westminster.Commented on was the fact that Charles read with deadpan political neutrality that his Parliament under Rishi Sunak planned to expand oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

He is one of the strongest supporters of the reduction of use of fossil fuels, having made his first speech on environmental protection in 1990 as a 21 year old Heir to the Throne. He has announced that all people “strive together to protect the world from our most existential challenge of all” –global warming but on November 7 he followed tradition unerringly and read out a statement that went against his belief and advocacy.

Traditions here

Boasting a cultural heritage of more than two and a half millennia, Sri Lanka has inherited traditions from the BC period. One such is the Esala Perahera held in Kandy since the third century BC. I make bold to say that unlike in Britain where almost all traditions have been retained and practiced in the original manner, ours have undergone changes. Of course we were colonized and had to bow down to rules imposed by the Portuguese, Dutch and British who first intruded, then annexed coastal regions and finally settled down as rulers of the entire island.

Some traditions were stamped out like temple customs when the Portuguese wielded power. But traditions have been changed by us and ourselves. The Kandy Esala Perahera concentrated on dignity and practicality when it began.. However, the competitive spirit and ‘I can do better’ attitude crept in, so much so that around 100 elephants or more are brought to parade. The Nilames of the Dalada Maligawa and devales, a couple of years ago, approached the then President – Mahinda R – for release of elephants from orphanages for their peraheras. An internationally recognized expert was Head of the Wild Life Conservation Department.

He refused to release elephants from the Uda Walawe orphanage as they were being nurtured to return to the forest when able to fend for themselves. Since the refusal was not acceptable, he resigned his post causing tremendous loss to the nation. Did peraheras of long ago, say even 50 years ago, insist on so many elephants to be tortured by being made to parade at pereheras?

Comes to mind Katina pinkamas since this is the month for such ceremonies to end monks’ three months vas retreats. These pinkamas were simple and dignified; now they tend to be even garish and affordable by only the very rich. Basics are the same, trappings and trimmings have undergone change; the emphasis being on money spending.

How many young ones bow on bended knee to their parents? And the unacceptable recent twist to it of making children go down in respect to all and sundry – school visiting politicians, chief guest at a prize giving. My generation and before, we bowed to parents, grandparents and Buddhist monks; not to family outsiders however powerful they were.

Covid gave a prohibitive blow to kissing as a form of greeting and smooching on one’s cheek and even the western-imported handshake. We went back to greeting or leave-taking with palms together and slight bow. That is how we in Kandy expressed love, appreciation, welcome and goodbye then. Smooching was alien, even repugnant to us.

We Lankans have wonderful traditions, most preserved and practiced as they were long centuries ago, but some tinkered for enhancement but in reality degrading and taking away much of the grace of the customary tradition.