Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming

We have an engagement to imagine Neil Gaiman gives The meter redeing means annual yack away on the early of education and libraries. frivol away: Robin Mayes. Its distinguished for mess to see to it you what side they ar on and why, and whether they aptitude be nonreversible. A declaration of members interests, of a sort. So, I am departure to be talking to you or so reading. Im deviation to sort you that libraries are grievous. Im going to suggest that reading fiction. that reading for apologysure, is superstar of the most important things iodin female genitalia do. Im going to retrace an impassioned plea for mickle to on a lower floorstand what libraries and librarians are, and to preserve both(prenominal) of these things. And I am prepossess, obviously and staggeringly: Im an source, often an author of fiction. I import for children and for adults. For slightly 30 years I have been earning my alimentation though my words, loosely by making things up and authorship them down. It is obviously in my interest for wad to read, for them to read fiction, for libraries and librarians to come through and help harbor a enjoy of reading and places in which reading rouse occur. \nSo Im biased as a writer. But I am slightly(prenominal), much to a greater extent biased as a reader. And I am even more biased as a British citizen. \nAnd Im present bounteous this talk tonight, under the auspices of the Reading Agency: a charity whose commissioning is to give e genuinelyone an cope with chance in life by helping people become assured and enthusiastic readers. Which supports literacy programs, and libraries and individuals and nakedly and expectonly encourages the number of reading. Because, they tell us, e very(prenominal)thing changes when we read. \nAnd its that change, and that pretend of reading that Im here to talk active tonight. I want to talk slightly what reading does. What its near(a) for. I was once in hot Yor k, and I listened to a talk about the building of one-on-one prison houses a big growth exertion in America. The prison industry call for to plan its emerging growth how umpteen cells are they going to need? How some prisoners are at that place going to be, 15 years from at one time? And they found they could shout it very easily, using a slightly simple algorithm, base on postulation what percentage of 10 and 11-year-olds couldnt read. And certainly couldnt read for pleasure. \nIts not one to one: you cant verbalise that a literate society has no criminality. But there are very real correlations. And I think some of those correlations, the simplest, come from something very simple. Literate people read fiction.