Salisbury residents hold event to promote reading – Salisbury Post

1 of 2

Readers take part in a silent reading at Bell Tower Green last weekend. – Submitted

Salisbury City Council member Anthony Smith came up with the idea of ​​a silent reading event to promote the values ​​of literacy. – Submitted

SALISBURY — Last weekend, more than 50 area residents gathered on Bell Tower Green for Salisbury’s first silent reading.

During the event, participants read silently for 30 minutes to demonstrate the importance of literacy in society and to create a movement to make Salisbury a city known for reading.

The event was the brainchild of Salisbury City Council member Anthony Smith.

Smith said the event was about “building a community united by the passion and joy of reading.”

He hopes the event will not only foster a culture of reading, but also raise awareness of the literacy challenges facing the community, encourage efforts to address them and highlight the underlying causes of low literacy.

Rowan County is slightly below the state and national averages for literacy according to the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which measures adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills.

Readers of all ages were there to read a good book, including many parents and young children. Najeema Bey, owner of a literacy center, is one of these mothers and is committed to promoting literacy. “Reading is a bond between my daughter and I and holds a special place in my heart because I teach children every day. We need to change our literacy habits and create a lifestyle that focuses on reading,” said Najeema Bey.

Participants Jamie Wyant and Susan Carey, who moved to Salisbury a few months ago, said the event was “comfortable and had no agenda, just a peaceful time of sharing in a pleasant setting.”

Attendees brought a variety of books to the event, including titles on social justice, history, children’s board books and fiction. Laurel Harry, executive director of the Rowan County Literacy Council, chose a work by author Ron Rash, who was the speaker at this year’s Brady Author Symposium at Catawba College.

“Reading fiction has been proven to increase empathy,” Harry said. “The act of reading teaches us to see a situation through someone else’s eyes. This helps us communicate better with others and understand different points of view.”

Smith plans to continue scheduling silent reading events and working collaboratively to make Salisbury and Rowan County more literate. For more information about future silent reading events, follow the Salisbury Silent Reading Club on Facebook. For more information about volunteering to help others improve their literacy, contact the Rowan County Literacy Council at www.rcliteracy.org. For more information about local, state and national literacy data, visit www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/skillsmap.