READING IS NOT DYING; THE QUALITY OF READING IS CHANGING

NV Paulose: Dr. Mamatha, in our last issue we published an article based on your presentation on the library as a wellness centre. I would like to ask you a provocative question today: Is reading dying?

Dr. Mamatha Pramod Kumar: No, I don’t think reading is dying. In fact, I would say something stronger: reading is indispensable to human development. What is changing is the form in which people read and, more importantly, the quality of what they read.

Today, people may not always pick up a printed book. They may read a PDF, an article on a computer, an e-book or information on a digital platform. That is still reading.

The real question is: What are we reading? How are we reading? From where are we getting the information? And what happens to our mind after we read it?

NV Paulose: That distinction is very important. Many people say, “Young people are no longer reading.” But when you ask them directly, they will say, “I read all the time.”

Dr. Mamatha: Exactly. If you ask somebody whether reading is important, most educated and accomplished people will tell you that reading has played a major role in their lives. No great person will argue against reading.

Therefore, I would not say that reading is dying. Those who are not reading are the ones who are gradually becoming disconnected from the world of knowledge and wisdom.

In fact, I would put it very provocatively: Reading is not dying. Those who stop reading are eventually dying intellectually. They are being diverted away from knowledge, wisdom and informed thinking.

NV Paulose: So the debate should not be about whether people read, but about the kind of reading they are doing?

Dr. Mamatha: Precisely. We need to make a very clear distinction between different kinds of reading.

For me, print reading and serious PDF reading belong to one category. Mobile reading dominated by reels and rapidly changing short-form content belongs to another.

If I read a book or a properly prepared PDF, I am giving my mind an opportunity to concentrate. I can go back, reflect, compare, question, and understand.

That kind of reading follows a very healthy sequence:

Reading → Thinking → Action.

Reading gives me information. Thinking processes that information. And then I can take meaningful action.

But when we are continuously consuming reels, unverified snippets and sensational digital content, another sequence can emerge:

Reading → Distortion → Loss.

The information gets distorted. Our understanding becomes confused. And eventually, we can become lost in an ocean of information without actually gaining knowledge.

FROM READING TO THINKING | AND FROM REELS TO DISTORTION

NV Paulose: You are therefore not against digital reading?

Dr. Mamatha: Absolutely not. Digital reading is an important part of modern life. A good PDF on a large screen can be an excellent reading experience. A research paper, a digital book, an authentic educational resource, these can all contribute enormously to learning.

The problem is not the device. The problem is the manner and purpose of consumption.

A mobile phone can be a library in your hand or it can become an instrument of distraction. The same device can give you a research paper from an authentic source and, a few seconds later, expose you to an artificially created video presented as if it were reality.

That is where we need to become extremely careful.

NV Paulose: And artificial intelligence has made that problem much more serious.

Dr. Mamatha: Yes. AI has created extraordinary possibilities, but it has also made the information environment much more complicated.

Today, a person can see an image or video and immediately assume that it is authentic. But increasingly, we have to ask: Is this real? Is it manipulated? Is it AI-generated? What is the source? What evidence supports it?

We recently saw examples of supposedly real footage circulating around natural disasters and other events. An ordinary viewer may not be able to determine immediately whether a particular video is genuine.

This is why information literacy is becoming as important as reading literacy.

We cannot simply tell young people, “Read more.” We must also teach them how to read, where to read, and how to verify what they read.

NV Paulose: So, in research and education, authentic sources become crucial.

Dr. Mamatha: Absolutely. If you are reading for study, research or professional development, you should go to credible and evidence-based sources.

A peer-reviewed paper, a recognised academic publication, a reliable book or a trustworthy institutional source has a very different value from an anonymous reel that has been forwarded thousands of times.

Popularity is not proof.

Virality is not evidence.

And repetition does not automatically make something true.

NV Paulose: That is perhaps one of the greatest challenges before our young people.

Dr. Mamatha: Yes. We are living in an age of information abundance but not necessarily an age of knowledge abundance.

Knowledge requires selection, concentration, verification and reflection.

That is exactly where reading becomes important.

A serious reader does not merely consume information. A serious reader thinks about information.

And that is why libraries remain so important.

NV Paulose: In your presentation, you described the library as a wellness centre. How does that idea connect with this larger question of reading?

Dr. Mamatha: They are deeply connected.

Reading is not only an academic activity. Reading can be a form of mental wellness. When you follow a line of text carefully, your mind slows down. You concentrate. You become present. You reflect. That is one reason I described the library as a living centre of wellness in my presentation.

A library can offer something that the modern digital environment often takes away from us: calm concentration.

It can become a sanctuary from digital fatigue.

NV Paulose: Your presentation also emphasised the changing role of librarians.

Dr. Mamatha: Yes. The librarian of the future cannot be merely a person who manages books and issues library cards.

The librarian must become a mentor, guide and navigator of information.

When a student is surrounded by millions of pieces of information, the librarian can help that student identify what is credible, what is relevant and what deserves deeper attention.

That is an enormous responsibility.

NV Paulose: We should remember that reading develops much more than academic knowledge. Concentration, confidence, and communication are three major qualities that grow through reading and storytelling.

The libraries need to actively promote reading rather than simply wait for readers to walk through the door.

Dr. Mamatha: Exactly.

We need deliberate steps in reading promotion. We need outreach programmes, especially for children and young people. The Karnataka State Library Association has already been involved in outreach activities where students are introduced to the importance and joy of reading.

The objective should be to make children fall in love with reading, not simply to make them fulfil a compulsory number of hours.

NV Paulose: That brings me to something I have observed. In some places, people say that students must spend a certain number of hours in the library.

Dr. Mamatha: I don’t think compulsion alone will create readers.

If someone tells a child, “You must sit in the library for 30 hours,” that does not necessarily create a lifelong reader.

We need to create an environment where the child wants to read.

The library should be attractive. The books should be accessible. Storytelling should be encouraged. Discussions should happen. Digital literacy should be incorporated. Librarians should engage with students.

The library should become a place where young people discover something exciting: the world is much bigger than the screen in front of them.

NV Paulose: So you see a larger national role for libraries?

Dr. Mamatha: Certainly. I believe we need to think about a national campaign for reading through libraries.

If libraries are rejuvenated, librarians are empowered and reading becomes a social movement, we can influence the intellectual health of an entire generation.

If libraries are neglected, we risk leaving young people entirely to an information ecosystem driven by speed, algorithms, entertainment, and increasingly sophisticated artificial content.

The library can provide the counterbalance.

NV Paulose: So your message is not “reject technology.”

Dr. Mamatha: Not at all. My message is use technology intelligently, but do not surrender your mind to it.

Read deeply.

Read authentic material.

Think about what you read.

Verify what you read.

And then act wisely.

That is why I say:

Reading leads to thinking, and thinking leads to action.

But if we allow unreliable digital content to dominate our reading habits, distortion can come first—and eventually we may lose our way.

NV Paulose: Then perhaps the question “Is reading dying?” is the wrong question.

Dr. Mamatha: Yes. The better question is:

“What kind of readers are we creating?”

Because the future of society depends not merely on how much information our young people consume, but on whether they can transform information into knowledge, knowledge into wisdom, and wisdom into responsible action.

NV Paulose: And that brings us back to the library.

Dr. Mamatha: Exactly. The library is not a museum of books. It is a living infrastructure for knowledge, thinking, wellness, and human development.

If we want a thoughtful society, we must build thoughtful readers.

And if we want thoughtful readers, we must strengthen our libraries and empower our librarians.

NV Paulose: A powerful message. Reading is not dying. Perhaps what we need is to ensure that our young people do not lose the habit and the wisdom of reading.

Dr. Mamatha: Absolutely. Let us not allow reading to disappear beneath the noise of the digital world. Let us make reading a movement again.