While national studies show Americans reading fewer books, MDI’s annual library sales offered a weekend-long argument for the enduring appeal of the written word.

Carrie Jones

Aug 16, 2026

BAR HARBOR—The doomsday story from The Atlantic went viral this summer.

“The End of Reading Is Here,” the headline decried though the article was much deeper than that.

Its author, Rose Horowitch, cites research by the National Endowment for the Arts, an institution that studies the reading habits of Americans.

In it, they found that “fewer than half of all adults reported having read a book of any kind in 2022. Only 38 percent read a novel or short story. A study analyzing 236,000 responses to the American Time Use Survey found that the proportion of Americans who read for pleasure on any given day fell from 28 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in 2023,” Horowitch writes.

The studies found that all demographics were impacted.

“Reading books is a workout for the attention span. The more you read, the easier it is to read, and the more you’re rewarded with new understanding. Eventually the process is more pleasurable than it is challenging. But as with physical exercise, the converse is true as well: The less you read, the more difficult it is to read, and the rockier the path to acquiring knowledge,” Horowitch writes and in her essay speaks to declining amounts of books read, reading stamina, test scores, needs for college professors to teach reading.

This weekend on Mount Desert Island is hardly a representative portion of the entire United States’ population, but even in a time of screens and AI-created content, it anecdotally showed no, people still read. Yes, people still love books.

Reading is not quite over yet. At least, it’s not over yet here.

At the Jesup Memorial Library’s book sale, Saturday morning, people lined up before the doors to the new addition opened. Outside, one volunteer pulled a woman out of the line to help her set up. She did.

After the doors opened, one man, sitting on the floor inside, between tables of used books, explained that this was the only place he could get used books in other languages. Russian. German. Swedish. They were there.

He proudly opened a package full of cassette tapes. Yes, he had cassette recorders at home to listen to them, too.

His joy was palpable.

“I wait all year for this,” he said. “All year.”

He isn’t alone.

Upstairs in the main library, Director Megan Brooks and Advancement and Community Relations Director Lila Miller, both glowing as they spoke about volunteers who made the book sale happen, and as they explained that some people plan their vacations to time with the library’s annual sale.

It’s a big deal.

And it happens because of the care of volunteers and their volunteer coordinators: Ruth Eveland, Louise Lopez, and Barbara Sassaman.

This year, because of the new community-funded addition, the main library didn’t have to close while people perused the books and games and audio offerings.

Circulation Manager Laura Edwards perched in her chair as one customer came in after another, hopping happily off to pet a dog, who wagged its tail and then—after saying goodbye—crossed to the new addition and walked down the stairs.

“Wow,” the dog’s human whispered as they descended.

The space hosted table after table of books. Some were already being read. Two girls sat in chairs against the wall, reading. Another sat on the floor, reading. A man bent over the table, book in hand, reading.

Across the island, the Bass Harbor Memorial Library hosted its annual book sale.

Libraries where books were leant out were first established in the United States by Benjamin Franklin.

“He conceived of a library with a subscription fee, the Library Company of Philadelphia, which he founded in 1731,” the Smithsonian writes.

“These libraries have improved the general conversation of the Americans,” he wrote in his autobiography.

The goal was to lift up people despite their social class, to allow them access to story and thought and deeper ways of thinking.

Libraries represented the best of Americans’ civic morality.

Libraries were hope. Books, pamphlets, the written word were carriers of thoughts and empathy and not just ideas on the pages but inspiration to their readers.

That hope continues in book sales that support the work of local libraries and of local minds.

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LINKS TO LEARN MORE.

The Jesup book sale continues Sunday (12-14) and Monday (10-4). The Bass Harbor Memorial Library Book Sale continues Sunday from 9-4.

Gallup article about reading stats

Bass Harbor Memorial Libarary

Jesup Memorial Library

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