There is a fact that should not surprise us, but is worth repeating: when we read, very specific parts of our brain related to reason, logic, language, and knowledge are activated. Reading in a focused and attentive manner strengthens neural connections, makes us smarter, and is a protective factor against cognitive decline.
Read more The woman they stopped asking
The big problem is that as a society we are reading less and less due to a mix of lack of time, access, and motivation. According to the 2024 National Survey of Cultural Participation and Reading Behavior, Chileans read an average of 5.5 books per year, a figure that remains below countries like Argentina, Mexico, and Uruguay, where around eight titles are recorded annually. Additionally, the survey revealed that only 4.9% of respondents consider themselves very frequent readers, while 39.6% admitted to reading little.
Reversing this decline is a task for multiple actors, and it is precisely at this intersection where the role of municipalities becomes key. Reading habits are not built in the abstract or in solitude: they are grounded locally, in what is close, in the spaces a community recognizes as its own.
In this sense, Book Month is also an opportunity to highlight experiences that have consistently bet on promoting reading from the territory. An example of this is the Lo Barnechea Reading Center, which this year celebrates 30 years since its creation.
Opened in 1996, when this type of initiative was not yet widely part of municipal policies, this space was a pioneer in establishing an idea that today seems obvious: that a public library is not just a repository of books, but a living place where culture becomes everyday, shared, and transformative. Three decades later, that commitment is reflected in concrete indicators, such as a high level of annual loans and strong child participation, a clear sign that the reading habit is being built from early stages.
Another aspect to value about communal libraries of this type is their territorial reach and their ability to reinvent themselves. For example, the Barcelona Libraries Plan 1998-2010 allowed transforming a deficient network into a modern system, expanding infrastructure, services, and citizen access. Equipment was doubled and usage increased significantly, with more visits, loans, and registered users. The success was based on planning, political consensus, sustained investment, and a vision of the library as a cultural and social space. Additionally, libraries contributed to social cohesion, urban revitalization, and access to knowledge. Looking to the future, new challenges related to digitalization, social diversity, and the active role of libraries in building citizenship are posed.
Promoting reading cannot be an isolated cultural action. On the contrary, it is the sum of different interventions in the pursuit of equal opportunities for all. When a child from the most vulnerable sectors of the community accesses a book, a mediator who tells them a story, or a playroom that shows that learning can be a game, we are reducing gaps that later are very difficult to close. We are, ultimately, building the future. The same happens when teenagers participate in silent reading sessions with other young people their age, or when an older adult marvels and is entertained by learning about stories from new authors, or by participating weekly in gatherings where what is read is discussed.
The social responsibility of municipalities in promoting reading implies a constant renewal of the commitment to continue adapting these spaces to the cultural, educational, and technological challenges ahead. More libraries in the streets, more digital access, more sessions in public spaces, more trained teachers, and more community gathered around books. When the passion for reading is shared and lived in community, it becomes something much bigger than a book and becomes a combination of identity, dialogue, and integration.
Today more than ever, we need to inhabit libraries. Because when a community decides to invest in reading, it is expanding horizons, strengthening capacities, and generating fairer conditions for the development of its neighbors.
Read more The purpose is at stake in our schools