Tag Archives: PLA

Fewer Americans are visiting libraries

pew logoRecently, at the PLA Conference in Denver, results of the Pew Research Center survey were released. Here are a few interesting facts, but as usual, since there is beauty in details, we encourage you to peruse the full report.

  • Fewer Americans are visiting libraries—which means they are missing out on many things libraries offer
  • Once again, Pew has been asking American adults whether they visited a public library in the past year. The first time, in 2012, 53% said yes; that has dropped steadily, to 44% in 2015.
  • And, in case you want to account for this drop by citing more online visitors, the number of visits to library websites has leveled off!
  • On an encouraging note, library users think of themselves as lifelong learners.
  • The study also found that many adults do not know they can borrow ebooks, study for high school equivalency tests, and take part in other programs at their libraries.

Could most of this be a result of a failure to communicate? Librarians are always seeking better ways to do exactly that, and those with social media outlets are experimenting in that venue too.

Please consider all of the facts from the report, and comment about what was striking to you!