Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun has unveiled the Reading Promotion Plan 2026-2030 in Madrid. The initiative aims to increase reading rates in Spain, but it does not detail specific budget allocations or propose concrete measures to curb the closure of small bookstores, the true ecosystem of the book.
Reading technology advances, but the numbers don't add up 📉
The plan bets on digitalization and the creation of a state platform for lending e-books. Interoperability between libraries and the use of artificial intelligence to recommend readings are mentioned. However, technical development clashes with reality: without a clear financial allocation, these digital tools risk remaining mere intentions without servers or maintenance.
Reading plan: much ado about nothing (literary) 📚
The plan is so ethereal that even a self-help book surpasses it in concreteness. It promises to promote reading, but does not say how to prevent your neighborhood bookstore from closing while Amazon offers you a 20% discount. It's like announcing a big dinner without saying who is providing the dishes or if there is enough bread for everyone. At least, booksellers will be able to read the plan... if they have time between unpaid invoices.