2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved.

Belowappearstheexecutivesummaryreportforthesummerreadingsurvey,conductedonlinebyHarrisPoll
fromApril718,2014.Background/ObjectivesandMethodologyareincludedatthebeginning,followedby
DetailedFindings.

Background/Objectives
ReadingIsFundamentalisinterestedinexploringtheopinionsofU.S.parentsofchildrenaged511yearsin
regardtoreadingduringthesummertime.Theresearchisintendedtogainmediagenicfindingsforusein
ReadingIsFundamentalsannualBeBookSmartcampaigninpartnershipwithRIFslargestcorporatesponsor,
Macys.

Specifically,ReadingIsFundamentalwantstoknowtheopinionsofparentsof511yearoldsregarding:

Theestimatednumberofhoursperweektheirchildspendsdoingvariousactivities,includingreading
books,duringtheschoolyearaswellaslastsummer
Themostimportantactivitytodothissummer,fromtheperspectiveoftheparentandofthechild
Howimportantitisthattheirchildreadsthissummer
Whethertheirchildlosesreadingskillsoverthesummer
Howoftentheirchildreadabooklastsummer
Whethertheirchildreadbookslastsummerbecausetheywantedto,ortheyhadto
Whethertheirchildsamountofsummerreadingisnotenoughortoomuch
Thingsthatpreventtheirchildfromreadinginthesummer
Whochooseswhichbookstheirchildwillreadoverthesummer
Howbooksareobtainedfortheirchildoverthesummer
Thefrequencyofvisitingthelibrarywiththeirchildlastsummer
Reasonstheydidntvisitthelibrarywiththeirchildmoreoftenlastsummer
Activitiesdoneatthelibrarylastsummer
Theirchildsfavoritetypeofbooktoreadduringthesummer
Theirchildspreferredformatforsummertimereading
Thenumberofprintedanddigitalbookstheirchildhasreadsofarthisschoolyear,andthenumberthey
readlastsummer
Whethertheirchildparticipatedinasummerreadingprogramlastsummer,andwhethertheywill
participatethissummer

ReadingIsFundamentalhascommissioneda21questiononlinestudytoexploretheseissues.

2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 2
Methodology
ThissurveywasconductedonlinewithintheUnitedStatesbyHarrisPollonbehalfofReadingIsFundamental
betweenApril718,2014among1,014U.S.parentsofchildrenaged511yearswhoareenrolledinschool.
Figuresforparentalage,gender,race/ethnicity,education,region,andhouseholdincomewereweightedwhere
necessarytobringthemintolinewiththeiractualproportionsinthepopulation.Propensityscoreweightingwas
alsousedtoadjustforrespondentspropensitytobeonline.

Allsamplesurveysandpolls,whetherornottheyuseprobabilitysampling,aresubjecttomultiplesourcesof
errorwhicharemostoftennotpossibletoquantifyorestimate,includingsamplingerror,coverageerror,error
associatedwithnonresponse,errorassociatedwithquestionwordingandresponseoptions,andpostsurvey
weightingandadjustments.Therefore,thewordsmarginoferrorareavoidedastheyaremisleading.Allthat
canbecalculatedaredifferentpossiblesamplingerrorswithdifferentprobabilitiesforpure,unweighted,
randomsampleswith100%responserates.Theseareonlytheoreticalbecausenopublishedpollscomecloseto
thisideal.

Respondentsforthissurveywereselectedfromamongthosewhohaveagreedtoparticipateinoursurveys.The
datahavebeenweightedtoreflectthecompositionoftheUSpopulationofparentsofchildrenaged511years.
Becausethesampleisbasedonthosewhoagreedtoparticipateinthepanel,noestimatesoftheoretical
samplingerrorcanbecalculated.

ThesestatementsconformtotheprinciplesofdisclosureoftheNationalCouncilonPublicPolls.

2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 3
OverviewofKeyFindings

Althoughalargemajorityofparentsof511yearoldsrecognizetheimportanceoftheirchildreadingbooks
duringthesummer,thisactivitycantendtofallbythewaysideduringthesummermonths.Whilemostchildren
inthisagerangearereportedtohavereadoneormorebookslastsummerandmanyhadreadabookatleast
onceaweek,theaveragetimespentonthistaskeachweek5.9hoursisshorterthantheamountsoftime
spentplayingoutdoors,watchingTV,andevenplayingvideogames.Duringtheschoolyear,thenumberofhours
spentreadingbookseachweekisjustslightlylongerthanthedurationspentplayingvideogames,butagain
shorterthanthetimesspentplayingoutsideorwatchingTV.Still,asolidmajorityofparentsfeelthattheirchild
doesjusttherightamountofreadingduringthesummer.

Librariesareamajorsourceofbooksforchildrenssummerreading,asthreequartersofparentssaythatthey
borrowedbooksfromalibraryfortheirchildtoreadlastsummer,andmorethaneightintenhadvisitedthe
librarywiththeirchildduringthatperiod.

Printbooksarestillthepreferredformatforchildrenssummerreading,withtabletscominginadistantsecond.
Thefavoritetypeofbookamongchildreninthe511yearoldagerangeisbooksabouttheirfavoriteTVshowor
toycharacter,followedbyscifiorfantasy.



2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 4
DetailedFindings

Duringtheschoolyear,approximatelyhowmanyhoursperweekdoesyourchildspenddoingeachofthe
followingactivities?Pleasegiveyourbestestimate.
Onaverage,parentsof511yearoldsreportthattheirchildspendsabout5.4hoursperweekreadingbooks
duringtheschoolyear.Thisamountoftimeisslightlymorethanthetimespentplayingvideogames(5.1hours),
yetcomparativelylowerthanthetimespentwatchingTV(9.7hours)orplayingoutdoors(9.0hours).
Girlsarereportedtospendsignificantlymoretimeduringtheschoolyearreadingbooksthanboysdo(5.9
hoursvs.4.9hours,respectively).Inaddition,boystendtospendmorehoursperweekplayingvideogames
(6.0hours)thanreadingbooksduringtheschoolyear.
Childrenage911yearsarereportedtospendmorehoursonaveragereadingbooksduringtheschoolyear
(6.4hours)comparedtotheiryoungercounterpartsaged58years(4.7hours).

Lastsummer,approximatelyhowmanyhoursperweekdidyour[Xyearoldson/daughter]spenddoingeach
ofthefollowingactivities?Pleasegiveyourbestestimate.
Parentsof511yearoldsreportthattheirchildspentanaverageof5.9hoursperweekreadingbookslast
summer.Thisislowerthanthetimespentplayingoutdoors(16.7hours),watchingTV(10.8hours),orplaying
videogames(6.6hours).
Girls,onaverage,spentanaverageof6.6hoursperweekreadingbookslastsummer,significantlyhigher
thantheaveragetimespentbyboys(5.2hours).Bycontrast,boysspentanaverageof8.0hoursperweek
playingvideogameslastsummer,comparedtojust5.2hoursamonggirls.
Childrenage911yearsarereportedtohavespentanaverageof7.3hoursperweeklastsummerreading
books,whichissignificantlyhigherthanchildrenage58years(4.8hours).

Whatisthemostimportantactivityyouwantyourchildtodothissummer?
Byawidemargin,parentsof511yearoldsidentifyplayingoutside(49%)asthemostimportantactivitythey
wanttheirchildtodothissummer.Readingbooks(17%)takessecondplace,followedby:relaxandtakeiteasy
(13%),improveathleticskills(10%),travel(4%),workatasummerjob(1%),andotheractivities(6%).
Whileplayingoutsideisthetoprankedactivityforboys(52%)andgirls(46%)alike,asignificantlyhigher
percentageofparentsidentifiedreadingbooksasthemostimportantactivityfortheirdaughters(21%)than
sons(14%).

Fromyourchildsperspective,whatwould[he/she]sayisthemostimportantactivitytodothissummer?
Amajority(51%)ofparentsof511yearoldsciteplayingoutsideastheactivitytheirchildwouldidentifyas
beingthemostimportantthissummer.Readingbooks(6%)ranksfourth,behindrelaxandtakeiteasy(26%)and
improveathleticskills(7%),butaheadoftravel(3%).Sevenpercentidentifiedotheractivities.

Howimportantisittoyouthatyourchildreadthissummer?
Eightythreepercentofparentsof511yearoldsconsideritextremely/veryimportanttothemthattheirchild
readsthissummer,with43%consideringitextremelyimportant.
Amongparentsof911yearolds,48%consideritextremelyimportantthattheirchildreadsthissummer,
comparedwith38%ofparentsof58yearolds.

Howmuchdoyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatement?Mychildlosesreadingskillsoverthe
summer.
Thirtyninepercentofparentsofchildrenage511yearsagreethattheirchildlosesreadingskillsoverthe
summer,while61%disagreewiththisstatement.

2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 5
Lastsummer,howoftendidyourchildreadabook?
Afull95%ofparentsof511yearoldsreportthattheirchildhadreadabookatalllastsummer,and81%say
thatthisoccurredatleastonceaweek.Twentysevenpercentsaythattheirchildreadeverydaylastsummer.
Statisticallysimilarpercentagesofboys(94%)andgirls(97%)readabookatalllastsummer,accordingto
theirparents.However,thepercentageofgirls(85%)whoreadabookatleastonceaweekissignificantly
higherthanamongboys(76%).
Parentswhoconsideritextremelyorveryimportantthattheirchildreadsabookthissummer(n=836)are
twiceaslikelyasthosewhofindsummerreadingsomewhatornotatallimportant(n=178)toreportthat
theirchildhadreadabookatleastfourtimesperweeklastsummer(55%vs.26%,respectively).Moreover,
theywerealsonearlytwiceaslikelytostatethattheirchildhadreadabookeverydaylastsummer(29%vs.
15%).
Parentswhosechildparticipatedinalocalsummerreadingprogram(n=490)aresignificantlymorelikely
thanthosewhosechildhadnotparticipatedinsuchaprogram(n=524)toreportthattheirchildhadreada
bookatleastonceaweek(91%vs.71%,respectively)oratleastfourtimesperweek(57%vs.44%)last
summer.Moreover,childrenwhohadparticipatedinareadingprogramatleast4timesperweeklast
summer(n=126)aretwiceaslikelytohavereadabookeverydayasthosewhohadnotparticipatedinthis
typeofprogram(50%vs.25%,respectively).
Childrenwhoreadlastsummerbecausetheywantedto(n=799,31%)aretwiceaslikelytohavereadabook
everydayasthosewhoreadonlybecausetheyhadto(n=185,14%),accordingtotheirparents.Theyare
alsosignificantlymorelikelytohavereadabookatleastfourtimesperweeklastsummer(57%vs.31%).

Didyourchildreadlastsummerprimarilybecause[he/she]wantedto,orbecause[he/she]hadto(e.g.,
assignedbyschool,instructedtobyparent(s))?
Apluralityofparentsof511yearoldswhosechildhadreadabooklastsummer(n=984)saythattheirchilddid
sobecausehe/shewantedto(45%).Sixteenpercentreportthatitwasbecausetheyhadto,while39%saythatit
wasduetothesetwofactorsequally.
Amongparentsofbothboys(40%,n=491)andgirls(50%,n=493)whosechildreadabooklastsummer,the
topreasonfortheirchildreadinglastsummerisattributedtotheirchildwantingtodothis;however,the
percentageofparentsofgirlsissignificantlyhigherthanamongparentsofboys.Furthermore,parentsof
boys(21%)aresignificantlymorelikelythanparentsofgirls(12%)tosaythattheirchildreadlastsummer
becausetheyhadto.
Apluralityofparentsof911yearoldswhosechildreadabooklastsummer(n=437)reportthattheirchild
didthisbecausehe/shewantedto(47%).Thisisfollowedby20%whosaythatitwasbecausetheirchildhad
to,and33%attributingittobothofthesereasonsequally.Bycontrast,asignificantlyhigherpercentageof
parentsof58yearoldswhoreadabooklastsummer(n=547)citebothofthesereasonsequally(44%),
followedbytheirchildwantingto(43%)andtheirchildhavingto(13%).

Howwouldyoudescribetheamountofreadingyourchilddoesduringthesummer?
Nearlysixintenparentsofchildrenage511saytheirchilddoesjusttherightamountofreadingduringthe
summer(59%).Fortypercentfeelthattheamountofreadingisnotenough,whilejust1%saythatitistoo
much.
Amongparentsofbothboys(54%)andgirls(65%),majoritiessaythattheirchilddoesjusttherightamount
ofreadingduringthesummer;notably,thispercentageissignificantlyhigheramongparentsofgirls.
However,45%ofparentsofboysconsidertheamountofreadingtobenotenough,whileonly34%of
parentsofgirlsfeelthisway.

Whatpreventsyourchildfromreadinginthesummer?Pleaseselectallthatapply.

2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 6
Amongparentsof511yearoldswhofeelthattheirchilddoesnotdoenoughreadingduringthesummer
(n=426),65%saythattheirchildispreventedfromreadingmoreinthesummerbecausetheyprefertoplaywith
toysand/ortheirfriends.Fiftysevenpercentsaytheyarebusywithothersummerrelatedactivities,while12%
reportthattherearetoofewbookstoreadthatinterestthem,5%saythereisnoonetosharethebookwith
and/ortalkaboutreading,3%citealackofavailablebooks,and11%identifysomeotherreason.Fivepercent
saythatnothingpreventstheirchildfromreadinginthesummer.

Whochooseswhichbooksyourchildwillreadoverthesummer?Pleaseselectallthatapply.
Eightyninepercentofparentsof511yearoldssaythattheirchildchoosesbooksthattheywillreadoverthe
summer,while55%saytheytheparentschoose,and21%reportthattheschoolchoosesand1%identify
someoneelsewhochooses.Only2%saynoonechoosesthebookstheirchildwillreadoverthesummer.

Howdoyougetbooksforyourchildtoreadinthesummer?Pleaseselectallthatapply.
Threequartersofparentsof511yearoldchildrenreportthattheygetbooksfortheirchildtoreadinthe
summerbyborrowingthemfromalibrary(75%).Fiftyonepercenthaveahomebookcollection,while48%
purchaseprintedbooksatabookstore,and29%downloadebooks/digitalbookstoatablet,ereader,
smartphoneorcomputer.Overaquarterpurchaseprintedbooksonline(26%),while18%tradewithorborrow
fromafriendorrelative,and2%citesomeotherwaytogetbooks.
Interestingly,58%ofparentsof58yearoldssaytheygetsummerbooksfortheirchildfromtheirhome
bookcollection,comparedtojust42%ofthosewithchildrenaged911years.Meanwhile,just15%of
parentsof58yearoldssaythattheytradewithorborrowbooksfromafriendorrelative,comparedto23%
ofthosewithchildrenaged911years.

Lastsummer,howfrequentlydidyouvisitthelibrarywithyourchild?
Eightysixpercentofparentsof511yearoldsreportthattheyevervisitedthelibrarywiththeirchildlast
summer,while30%didsoatleastonceaweek.Apluralityofparentsestimatetheirfrequencyoflibraryvisits
withtheirchildtobe13timespermonth(41%).Meanwhile,29%ofparentsvisitedthelibrarylessfrequently
thanthat,with14%sayingtheynevervisitedthelibraryatallduringthesummer.

Whydidyouandyourchildnotgotothelibrarymoreoftenlastsummer?Pleaseselectallthatapply.
Amongparentswhonevervisitedthelibrarywiththeir511yearoldchildlastsummerordidsolessthanonce
permonth(n=305),47%sayareasonfornotgoingtothelibrarymoreoftenisthattheywerebusywithother
activities.Fortythreepercentobtainedbooksotherways(suchasdownloadingorpurchasingthem),while13%
saythattheirlibraryhaslimitedhours.Ninepercentreportthatthereisnolibraryneartheirhome,while2%say
thatthenearestlibraryhasanoutdatedbookselection.Tenpercentidentifyotherreasonsfornotgoingtothe
librarymoreoftenlastsummer.

Whenyouvisitedthelibrarywithyourchildlastsummer,whichofthefollowingdidyoudo?Pleaseselectall
thatapply.
Amongparentswhohadvisitedthelibrarywiththeir511yearoldchildlastsummer(n=885),88%reportthat
whiletheyweretheretheyborrowedbookstotakehome.Thirtyeightpercentlettheirchildreadbooksthere
independently,and30%readbookstheretogetherwiththeirchild.Fourpercentidentifiedotheractivitiesthere.
Thirtyeightpercentofparentsof58yearoldswhovisitedthelibrarywiththeirchildlastsummerreport
thattheyreadbooksthere,togetherwiththeirchild.Thisisespeciallyprevalentamongthosewhose
childrenareage5(47%),age6(49%),andage7years(38%).Bycomparison,only21%ofparentsof911
yearoldshaddonethisactivity.However,nearlyequalpercentagesofparentsof58yearoldsand911year
oldsreportthattheylettheirchildreadbooksthereindependently(39%and38%,respectively).

2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 7
Whatisyourchildsfavoritetypeofbooktoreadduringthesummer?
Seventysevenpercentofparentsof511yearoldsidentifyanyfavoritetypeofbookthattheirchildreadsduring
thesummer.ThirtyonepercentreportthattheirchildsfavoritetypeofbooksareabouttheirfavoriteTVshow
ortoycharacter,while13%sayitisscifiorfantasy.Thesearefollowedby:classics(8%),comics(8%),history
(4%),biography(2%),andothertypes(11%).Twentythreepercentsaythattheirchilddoesnothaveafavorite
typeofbook.
BooksaboutafavoriteTVshowortoycharacterarethetopchoiceamongboys(29%)andgirls(34%)alike,
accordingtotheirparents.However,asignificantlyhigherpercentageofgirls(11%)favoritetypeofbookis
classics,comparedtoboys(5%).Meanwhile,comicsarethefavoriteamongasignificantlyhigherpercentage
ofboys(12%)thangirls(3%).
Among58yearolds,booksaboutafavoriteTVshowortoycharacter(42%)arethetopchoice,butonly18%
of911yearoldswouldidentifythistypeastheirfavorite,accordingtotheirparents.Amongparentsofthe
olderchildren,22%saythatscifi/fantasybooksaretheirchildsfavorite,comparedtojust7%ofparentsof
58yearolds.

2013,HarrisInteractiveInc.Allrightsreserved. 8
Whatformatdoesyourchildpreferforsummertimereading?
Byawidemargin,printbooks(83%)are511yearoldchildrenspreferredformatforsummertimereading,
accordingtotheirparents.Thisisfollowedbytablets(7%),ereaders(4%),magazines/comics(3%),computer
(3%),orotherformats(1%).

Approximatelyhowmanyprintedbooksanddigitalbooks(ebooks)hasyourchildreadthisschoolyearso
far?Pleasegiveyourbestestimate.
Onaverage,parentsof511yearoldchildrenreportthattheirchildhasreadatotalof28.5booksthisschool
yearsofar(asofApril).Theaveragenumberofprintedbooksreadis25.3,andtheaveragenumberofdigital
books/ebooksis3.3.Themediannumberofbooksreadis20,intotal.
Theaveragetotalnumberofbooksreadby58yearolds(32.6books)issignificantlyhigherthanamong
childrenage911years(23.4books).

Lastsummer,approximatelyhowmanyprintedbooksanddigitalbooks(ebooks)didyourchildread?Please
giveyourbestestimate.
Childrenage511readanaverageof16.9bookslastsummer,accordingtotheirparents.Theaveragenumberof
printedbooksreadis14.8,andtheaveragenumberofdigitalbooks/ebooksis2.1. Themediannumberofbooks
readis10,intotal.

Lastsummer,howoftendidyourchildparticipateinalocalsummerreadingprogram(throughalibrary,school,
etc.)?
Nearlyhalfofparentsof511yearoldsreportthat,lastsummer,theirchildhadeverparticipated(49%)inalocal
summerreadingprogram,while29%saythattheirchildhadparticipatedatleastonceaweek.Fiftyonepercent
reportthattheirchildhadneverparticipatedinthistypeofprogramlastsummer.

Willyourchildparticipateinasummerreadingprogramthissummer?
Thirtytwopercentofparentsof511yearoldssaythattheirchildwillparticipateinasummerreadingprogram
thissummer.Twentysevenpercentsaytheirchildwillnotparticipate,and41%arenotsure.