Readership in Poland has returned to the pre-pandemic level. This means that the downward trend has been permanently halted, informs the National Library in its latest report on book reading in 2021.

38% of Poles read at least one book in the last 12 months (from April 2021 to March 2022). After the increase in readership in Poland during the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a return to the 2019 level.

In 2020, the National Library recorded a slight increase in readership, but this tendency was not maintained and did not become the beginning of a “new trend” of growth.

During the pandemic, when cultural centers, theaters and cinemas were closed, no concerts or mass events were organized, Poles read books more often.

According to the report, readers in Poland are primarily the best educated women. The economic situation also has an impact on whether someone will read the book.

People who are optimistic about their financial situation, and therefore most often they are people with higher education, read more books and have a more positive attitude to this activity.

The most important source of reading books is shopping, with online sales increasing in importance during the pandemic. Two more popular ways of acquiring reading material are linked to social relations supporting reading – borrowing books from friends and family and receiving book gifts.

About one third of respondents in the research conducted by the National Library declared that in their homes there were no books or only school textbooks. About every fourth person with children under 18 also provided this answer.

Parents of the youngest children (under 4) have least often any books at home. For some Poles, having a preschool child (4-6 years old) is associated with the first book purchases. Some of those who do not read books themselves believe that children should have contact with them.

Adrian Andrzejewski