Interesting
Young adults are the heaviest users of public libraries despite the ease with which they can access a wealth of information over the Internet from the comforts of their homes, according to a new study.
That's especially true for those who had questions related to health conditions, job training, government benefits and other problems. Twenty-one percent of Americans age 18-30 with such questions have turned to public libraries, compared with about 12 percent among the general adult population with problems to solve. . . .
The study found that library usage drops gradually as people age — 62 percent among those 18-30 compared with 32 percent among those 72 and up, with a sharp decline just as Americans turn 50.
"It was truly surprising in this survey to find the youngest adults are the heaviest library users," Rainie said. "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." . . .
In the decade since the Benton report, Internet access has grown from about 44 percent of public libraries to more than 99 percent. Many libraries have rearranged spaces or moved into new quarters to accommodate the expansion in computers. In many places, individual study carrels gave way to long tables where patrons can interact.
"We're seeing a lot of conversion of what may have been stack areas, warehouse areas," said Loriene Roy, president of the American Library Association, which was not involved in the study. "Libraries are creating social spaces." . . .
The study also found library usage lower among those without Internet access or only dial-up access, especially when their income also is lower, even though for them, the library might be their only source of high-speed Internet terminals.
But when they have a problem to solve, they turn to libraries as heavily. . . .
Young adults are heavy library users, study shows
posted by Degolar @ 5:03 PM
2 Comments:
This is what I found interesting and wondered about:
Is this because they are the generation used to getting info on their own so would naturally seek more and then came to a comment about that.
They are getting info from the Internet and libraries and doing their own financial planning, starting business, medical care, etc. instead of going to established businesses and asking authorities. Older people may be more trained to go to specialists and so would use these resources less. An issue of trust or finances or knowing how to use the resources or all of the above?
Will this generation continue to use library resources because of these things so the drop-off in use will be smaller as they age?
Your theory makes sense. One of the statistics they gave is that the group ten years older have always and continue to use the library less than this group, which suggests the trend will continue.
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