Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The final category in our library engagement typology represents the almost 15% of Americans ages 16 and older who have never personally used a public library in their lifetime. These “never” library users break out into two non-engagement groups: Distant Admirers and Off the Grid. Though neither group has any personal library experience, they have […]
Internet and broadband adoption rates among seniors are steadily increasing, but still well below the national average Six in ten seniors—59%—report using the internet. This is a six percentage point year-over-year increase from the 53% of older adults who went online at a similar point in 2012. Five years ago in May 2008, just 35% […]
Experts predict the Internet will become ‘like electricity’ — less visible, yet more deeply embedded in people’s lives for good and ill
The three low engagement groups in our typology—Not For Me, Young and Restless, and Rooted and Roadblocked—fall at the farthest end of the spectrum of library users. Unlike members of the medium engagement groups, who generally report being moderately active in their library habits, only about a third of the low engagement users have used […]
A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers.
Many seniors face physical challenges to using new digital devices Not only do seniors use many common technologies at relatively low rates, they also face unique barriers and challenges to increasing those adoption levels.[1. In previous Pew Research surveys on this subject, we have found that many seniors take a skeptical view towards the potential […]
Some of the most prominent and respected technology experts and analysts made far-ranging statements, encompassing many points. Their answers: Things will get better, rather than worse A vortex of innovation and a commons-based economy could be created Jerry Michalski, founder of REX, the Relationship Economy eXpedition, wrote, “I’m going to be an idealist here and […]
The focus of this report is the creation of a new typology of Americans’ public engagement with public libraries, which sheds light on broader issues around the relationship between technology, libraries, and information resources in the United States. It serves as a capstone to the three years of research the Pew Research Center has produced […]
Adoption is increasing, but many seniors remain isolated from digital life
About three in ten Americans ages 16 and older are “highly engaged” with public libraries. Those in this bracket sort into two basic groups: Library Lovers, who represent the 10% of Americans with the highest levels of library engagement; and Information Omnivores, who represent an additional 20% of Americans. As a whole, the high engagement […]
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