With the phone ban effective this year, some are optimistic about students turning their attention toward books. One of these hopefuls is FHN librarian Gabrielle Weston.
“Ideally, as a librarian, I would love for every student to just come to the library and read,” Weston said. “And the test scores would go up and everybody would be happy. But that’s just not the reality.”
This year, with the new phone policy in place, the librarians have been with more freshman classes to encourage recreational reading.
“The idea is that when students are done with their work, then they can read something rather than pick up their phones,” Weston said.
While the phone policy has only been in place for a few months, Weston had noticed an uptick in recreational reading.
“It’s a small percentage, but it is only the first year,” Weston said. “I just think we need years and years in order to create a reading culture that values literacy.”
For her, the importance of reading goes far beyond its academic benefits.
“We have a lot of young adults that are receiving a lot of misinformation online, and can’t tell the difference between AI and real life,” Weston said. “It’s so important for people to be informed.”
Weston also believes libraries themselves are far much more than just a source of books.
“It is very important for us to just be in the space of books and of information,” Weston said. “Libraries have so much purpose. It’s a safe space, and one of the last places where people can go and there isn’t an expectation to pay for something. That’s something that people tend to forget.”
Some students agree that reading recreationally offers a welcome break from their phone usage.
“Reading lets me just get off my phone and relax,” senior Valerie Garcia said. “But I don’t think my peers read very often.”
Weston is hopeful that this will change over the course of time.
“When it comes to creating a literacy culture, people just need to read more,” Weston said. “They need to question more. They need to think critically more. Let’s bring critical thinking back. Let’s actually have conversations, be inquisitive, and write down your thoughts. People don’t do that enough, and they really should.”
