Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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- Libraries 2016
- Large majority says that libraries should have programs to teach digital skills; many hope they provide comfortable reading and working spaces
- In-person library usage fluctuates
- Americans do not yet have clearly fixed views about what to do with books and meeting spaces at libraries
- People think closing their local public libraries would hurt communities
- People see libraries as a safe place, a source of educational opportunity and trusted information, as well as a place to ignite creativity in young people
- Women are more likely to think libraries contribute a lot to communities on key activities
- Traditional activities – borrowing books or reading – dominate library use, but people are also attending classes or other programs
- Doing research or checking email are the most frequent uses of library tech resources, but more people are using them to take classes online than last year
- For Americans using libraries digital tools, searching library catalogues for content is the most prevalent activity
- Non-library users are more likely to be male and have lower levels of educational attainment when compared with library users
- Americans who have never been to libraries do not see the impact of one closing with the same intensity as library users