Survey discovered reading habits among Sharjah nationals
61% spent all free time reading and 60% said reading had a strong influence
5 Dariya News
Sharjah 10-Nov-2015
A survey to measure levels of reading in Sharjah citizens has been conducted by Knowledge without Borders (KWB), a Sharjah based project which gives free books to nationals. The aim of the survey was to determine how much people benefited from the home library donated to them by KWB by establishing the percentage of readers in the emirate.The survey found that those in receipt of a KWB library spent 61% of their free time reading, 60% believed that reading had a strong influence on them while only 36% believed the effect of reading is little. It was found that 64% read intermittently, 18% read regularly and 17% did not read at all, with 11% of those who do not read citing lack of time as a reason and only 4% said they were unwilling to read.In contrast, of those who did not receive the libraries, 43% never read, 48% of them read sporadically and only 8% read regularly. Of this group it found that more men read then women, 59% compared to 53%. The survey found that 61% said that the reason behind not reading was lack of time and 58% acknowledged that they have no passion for reading.
The study also discovered that the importance of reading increases between 18-39 years while interest in reading declines among people aged 50 years and above. The survey was conducted in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to assess the impact of the KWB project and was implemented in cooperation with the Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development and Feedback Company.The study also aimed to learn about how often the family members used KWB's library, evaluate their benefit from its content and measure how well the library's content met the needs of the family. It also aimed to gain the family's opinions and suggestions about the number and quality of books, their opinions about the library's design and if they have any suggestions to improve it, and measure families' satisfaction with receiving the library. The study also sought to find out how many have not received the home library yet, and determine the number of families wishing to get it; as well as families that do not want receive books and find out why.
Rashid Al Kous, General Manager of Knowledge without Borders, said, “We sought through commissioning this study to understand and measure the percentage of readers among the citizens of the emirate of Sharjah and learn about readers' interests. It also aimed to determine the importance of reading to various community segments and the number of books read and the impact of reading on people's life. The survey also meant to define the reasons behind lack of interest in reading, according to gender, age, academic achievement and social status.” Al Kous added: “The study recommended the need to focus on developing reading skills and promoting awareness about the importance of reading under the age of 13 years.
The study also advised that short stories or brief books that do not need a long time to read should be provided. Books that could be read on the go were also requested as well as the means to share works via social networking sites.” Knowledge without Borders was launched as an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and is supervised and supported by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Head of the Organizing Committee of KWB. The initiative aims to establish reading as a noble habit in every household in the UAE, by encouraging the establishment of home libraries, and supplying these libraries with best reads in various domains suitable for the entire family.