2026 ALISE Annual Conference

Reading Decline; Teens; Leisure Reading; Literacy; Civic Engagement.With national reading scores at historic lows, prompting widespread concern within libraries, educational institutions, and homes across the nation, this paper traces the history of reading, teens, and the public library. It examines how reading came to occupy a foundational role in teen services and how its meaning has evolved over time. Drawing on national and international surveys and related research, it analyzes how reading has been framed, promoted, and measured within and beyond the library field, and considers what scholarship suggests about the decline in leisure reading and its implications for civic engagement and democratic life.