A new analysis of Pew Research data has found that millennials in the USA are the most likely group to have visited a public library in the last year.
Millennials is the name given to those who are aged around 20 to 37 right now, and 53% of them say that they have used a library or bookmobile in the previous 12 months. In comparisons, 45% of Generation Xers, 43% of Baby Boomers, and 36% of those in the Silent Generation.
Overall, 46% of adults aged 18 or older said they used a public library or a bookmobile in the past twelve months, a figure that is consistent with Pew Research findings in recent years.
The study also showed that members of the youngest adult generation are also more likely than their elders to have used library websites, and again it’s millennials who are most likely to do so. 41% of millennials used the library website compared to 24% of boomers.
It’s suggested that the high library use might be related to modernisation within the library service in the last twenty years including computers, internet connections, and literacy programs for children, meeting spaces for community groups and gadgetry.
Other figures from the survey showed that women are more likely to visit the library than men (54% vs 39%) and women are more likely to use the library website (37% vs 24%). College graduates are also more likely to use the library compare with those with a high school diploma only (56% vs 40%). Parents of minors are also more likely to use the library than those without children (54% vs 43%).
The figures are provided by the Pew Research Center.
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