Sunday is International Literacy Day! We recommend taking the opportunity to curl up with with a warm cup of coffee, a comfy chair, and a favorite classic. Of course, this holiday is bittersweet - We know we'll be celebrating accordingly, but many Americans won't be able to do so.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Education, 32 million adults in the U.S. can't read.

The current literacy rate isn't any better than it was 10 years ago. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (completed most recently in 2003, and before that, in 1992), 14 percent of adult Americans demonstrated a "below basic" literacy level in 2003, and 29 percent exhibited a "basic" reading level.

We probably don't need to spell out the benefits of reading and writing for you. Economic security, access to health care, and the ability to actively participate in civic life all depend on an individual's ability to read.

According to the Department of Justice, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." The stats back up this claim: 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, and over 70 percent of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level, according to BeginToRead.com.

Visit the American Library Association to learn more about what libraries are doing - and what you can do - to promote literacy. Your contribution can be as simple as reading stories to young relatives, volunteering to read at your local school or donating your unwanted books to libraries and organizations such as Housing Works.