The E-Sylum:  Volume 11, Number 2, January 13, 2008, Article 19

SURPRISE! YOUNG ADULTS ARE USING LIBRARIES

[Joel Orosz forwarded an article from the Philanthropy News
Digest at the Foundation Center's Web site about a study
which found that "Younger, Wired Adults Use Libraries Most".
He writes: "It looks like there is hope that we will have
someone to buy our books when we go to the great bindery
in the sky...."  -Editor]

A new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project
and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finds
that young adults are the biggest users of public libraries,
the Associated Press reports.

According to the study, 21 percent of Americans between
the ages of 18 and 30 looking for answers to questions
related to health conditions, job training, government
benefits, and other concerns turn to libraries, compared
with 12 percent of the general adult population. Moreover,
these young adults visit not only for the access to
computers and the Internet that libraries provide but
also for the reference materials, newspapers, and magazines.

The study noted that library usage drops gradually as
people age. According to the study, 62 percent of Americans
between the ages of 18 and 30 said they visited a library
in the past year, compared with 32 percent among those age
72 and older. The study also found that library usage is
lower among those without Internet access...

A 1996 report from the Benton Foundation warned that
Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 were the least
enthusiastic supporters of spending tax dollars to maintain
library buildings, but since then many libraries have
rearranged spaces to accommodate expanded computer usage.
"It was truly surprising in this survey to find the youngest
adults are the heaviest library users," said Lee Rainie,
director of the Pew Internet Project. "The notion has taken
hold in our culture that these wired-up, heavily gadgeted
young folks are swimming in a sea of information and don't
need to go to places where information is."

To read the complete article, see:
Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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