The number of people visiting local libraries in the United States may be declining but libraries continue to get higher levels of approval among users as they diversify means of sharing information and knowledge in step with latest digital trends and technologies, according to a new survey.
A Pew Research Center says as much as 76% of adults say libraries serve the learning and educational needs of their communities. Of these 37 % say the libraries serve “very well” and 39 % rate their positive opinion as “pretty well.”
Besides, a large segment – 71% – says libraries serve their own personal needs and the needs of their families “very well” or “pretty well.”
So, the conclusion that libraries may be losing relevance in the age of the Internet looks premature.
The survey also finds that libraries’ performance in learning arenas gets better marks from women, blacks, Hispanics, those in lower-income households, and those ages 30 and older.
Here are some of the interesting findings of the latest survey:
Surprisingly, many people do not know that libraries offer learning-related programs and materials such as e-books, career and job resources, and high school certification courses, the findings say.
“Additionally, these views arise in a context where strong majorities of adults consider themselves “lifelong learners” and libraries around the country are working to fit their programs and services into local educational ecosystems – both the formal parts of it (such as schools) and the informal parts of it (such as “do it yourself” learning opportunities).”
Also, a recent Pew report found that 73% of adults say the label “lifelong learner” applies “very well” to them.
The opinions tell that 74% of adults have participated in personal learning experiences of various kinds in the previous 12 months – we call them personal learners.
Interestingly, 63% of full- and part-time workers have taken courses or done training on the job to improve their skills in the past year – we called them professional learners.
“Recent library users overwhelmingly embrace those ideas and activities. Fully 97% of those who used a library or bookmobile in the past 12 months say that the term “lifelong learner” applies “very well” or “pretty well” to them and a similar share of library website users (98%) also strongly identified with being lifelong learners,” the Pew reported.
Moreover, the survey finds that 84% of those who visited a library in the past 12 months fit our definition of personal learner, compared with 66% of those who had not recently visited a library or bookmobile.
The survey discloses that recent library users are more likely than others to read “how to” publications, take courses related to personal interests, attend learning-related events and meetings, and take online courses.
Among workers, the survey says, recent library users are no more likely than others to fall into the category of professional learners.
However, some 78% of adults say they have ever gone to a library, while 44% say they went to a library or bookmobile in the past 12 months.
“The findings indicate a downward drift in the number of those who use physical library facilities in any given year. In our first survey on this in November 2012, 53% of adults had visited a library or bookmobile in the past 12 months.
“Over the same period, the use of library websites has leveled off. In 2013, 30% of adults had used a library website over the past 12 months, while the new finding is that 31% have done so in the past year. Additionally, we found that 9% of adults had used a library-related app in the past 12 months – a first time reading for this question.”
The new survey finds that a significant number of libraries have added education- and learning-related material, often in digital form or available on the internet. This survey shows that a portion of adults are aware of those activities, but many do not know about them, including:
A majority, 90%, of public libraries have e-book lending programs, according to Information Policy and Access Center (IPAC) at the University of Maryland, and 62% of adults say they know that their local libraries have such programs. At the same time, 22% say they do not know whether e-book lending is done by their libraries and another 16% say it is not done by their community libraries.
