The concept is simple: gather together on Wednesday afternoons and read in peaceful silence in Shannon Library’s light-filled Memorial Hall. Silent Reading Study Break, a new weekly event created by librarians Haley Gillilan and Mandy Rizki, along with the Library Student Council, is the University of Virginia Library’s way of carving out time for reading.
“We wanted to host an event that would offer an easy way to spend time in the Library, give students a set time to step away from studying, and support reading — in any form!” said Gillilan, an Undergraduate Student Success Librarian. Participants can bring their own reading materials or browse Library recommendations and stay for just a few minutes or for the entire two-hour sessions, which are free and open to all. “We know that sometimes it can be hard to make time to spend on reading for enjoyment and so we wanted to make space for that,” she said.
A decline in leisure reading?
Gillilan was motivated to create these sessions after interacting with students and staff in Library classes and outreach events. “In my experience, one of the most frequent questions I get asked is, ‘Where is the leisure reading at UVA Library?’” Gillilan said. “I think sometimes students want to know that they have that option, but it’s unclear to me how much they take it.”
In August, researchers from University College London and the University of Florida released a study showing that rates of daily reading for pleasure have declined approximately 3% each year over the past two decades in the United States. Gillilan said she hears about this worrying trend often from students and instructors, especially in the wake of a 2024 article in The Atlantic provocatively titled “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.”
This past summer, Gillilan and her colleague Erich Purpur, a Science and Engineering Research Librarian, ran an informal poll while manning a Wahoo Welcome table during UVA Orientation. “We asked undergrads the question, ‘Do you read for fun?’ and everyone said yes — and provided an example of a book they liked recently,” she said.
Encouraged by these findings, Gillilan thought about the reported societal decline in reading for pleasure. “It seems to me that the decline is related to people feeling like they don't have the time,” she said. “I hear from students that they are busy with their schoolwork and social activities, and there doesn't seem to be the same kind of space made for leisure reading like there is in grades K-12.”
The purpose of Silent Reading Study Breaks is to simply make that time. “If people have been hoping to get back into reading but feel like they are too busy, or not sure where the ‘fun’ books are in the Library, or simply not sure what to pick up next because it’s been so long since they’ve read a book they’ve chosen for themselves, we’re hoping a program like this can lower those barriers,” Gillilan said.
The program has been “going great so far,” Gillilan said. “The scheduled reading break mid-week is such a welcome reset for us, too.” The librarians participate along with patrons (Gillilan is reading “Katabasis” by R.F. Kuang; Rizki is reading “Corregidora” by Gayl Jones). While Library Student Council is a student organization, Gillilan stressed that anyone is welcome to join the Silent Reading Study Breaks. “I really hope we can keep expanding this program,” she said.
Silent Reading Study Breaks are held every Wednesday from 4–6 p.m. in Shannon Library’s Memorial Hall. Bring your own book or browse from our offerings (Shannon Library’s new Popular Reading collection is located just steps away from Memorial Hall in the fourth-floor stacks). For more information (or to join Library Student Council), reach out to Haley Gillilan at hg4ub@virginia.edu.