Did you know that nearly 800 million adults and young people lack basic literacy skills?
Supporting the worldwide teaching of these vital skills will help build a more equal society, but the COVID-19 crisis has disrupted education in nearly every country.
因此，我们面临着更严重的不平等，更迫切需要为世界各地的每个人提供优质教育。
Today we markInternational Literacy Dayto reflect on how we can work towards theUN’s goalto achieve this aim.
今年的活动为我们提供了一个讨论创新方法的机会，以确保在大流行期间和以后扫盲工作能够蓬勃发展。
At Creative Commons, we know that the best way to address humanity’s greatest global challenges is through collaboration and the sharing of information.
Libraries are a perfect example of this.
As a Member of the European Parliament, I founded an all-party group on libraries to help promote literacy across the continent.
人们普遍存在一种误解，认为图书馆提供的服务已经过时了——在年轻人开始把智能手机放在口袋里随时查看维基百科(Wikipedia)、在他们开始用kindle下载书籍之前，这些服务已经过时了。
But a recent study by theCarnegie UK Trust例如，该研究发现，英国15-24岁的人是最有可能使用图书馆的年龄组。
Today, the most successful libraries have remodeled themselves to become fit for the 21st century, and more can follow suit if they receive the right support and advice, and have the backing of local governments.
但COVID-19危机已经关闭了世界各地的图书馆大门，这使得数字获取变得如此重要。
And there are barriers which remain in place to this, which people are working to break down.
TheNational Emergency Library, designed by the Internet Archive, made over 1.3 million e-books immediately available for checkout, free of charge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, a consortium of four publishers filed suit and the library was forced to return to traditional controlled digital lending.
这表明，在我们战胜COVID-19之后，仍然存在并将长期构成挑战。
But there are millions of books which can still be found on the internet and are free for anyone to read.
Many American books published before 1964 never extended their copyright, and theNew York Public Libraryhas ensured that those public domain books are now free online.
Over 60,000 free books can also be found online at theProject Gutenbergsite.
My favorite public domain book has to be Jane Austen’s classic,Pride and Prejudice. I read it every year without fail and it never disappoints.
We want to hear from you about your favorite public domain book. To mark International Literacy Day, why not take part inour Twitter polland vote for your favorite!
At CC we will continue to campaign to unlock culture and knowledge for everyone, everywhere.
