{"id":14540,"date":"2014-01-24T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2014-01-24T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/10-facts-about-americans-and-public-libraries\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:24:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:24:23","slug":"10-facts-about-americans-and-public-libraries","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2014\/01\/24\/10-facts-about-americans-and-public-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"10 facts about Americans and public libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technology and the internet are changing Americans\u2019 reading habits and also their relationship with libraries. Half of Americans now own a tablet or e-reader and libraries have responded by expanding their digital offerings.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what hasn\u2019t changed is Americans\u2019 love for books. American adults still read about as much as ever and overwhelmingly say libraries play an important role in their communities. In advance of the American Library Association\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/alamw14.ala.org\/\">Midwinter Convention<\/a> (#alamw14) in Philadelphia, here are some key facts and trends we have chronicled in our research on America\u2019s public libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<figure><a href=\"http:\/\/pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2014\/E-Reading-Update\/Overview.aspx\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2014\/01\/e-readers1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"462\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<figure><a href=\"http:\/\/pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2014\/E-Reading-Update\/Overview.aspx\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2014\/01\/e-readers2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"328\" height=\"445\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2013\/12\/11\/libraries-in-communities\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/libraries.assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2013\/12\/01-if-library-closed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"441\" height=\"336\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<figure><a href=\"http:\/\/libraries.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2013\/05\/01\/parents-children-libraries-and-reading\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/libraries.assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2013\/04\/04-mothers-use-libraries.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"516\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2013\/12\/11\/libraries-in-communities\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/libraries.assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2013\/12\/02-important-services.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"421\" height=\"507\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<figure><a href=\"http:\/\/libraries.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2013\/01\/22\/part-4-what-people-want-from-their-libraries\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/libraries.assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2013\/01\/pew-internet-2013-01-22-lib-services-4-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"575\" height=\"397\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><h4 id=\"read-more-about-americans-and-libraries\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read more about Americans and libraries:<\/h4><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2017\/08\/30\/most-americans-especially-millennials-say-libraries-can-help-them-find-reliable-trustworthy-information\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Most Americans say libraries can help them find reliable, trustworthy information<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2017\/06\/21\/millennials-are-the-most-likely-generation-of-americans-to-use-public-libraries\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Millennials are the most likely generation of Americans to use public libraries<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/03\/23\/who-doesnt-read-books-in-america\/\">Who doesn\u2019t read books in America?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Technology and the internet are changing Americans\u2019 reading habits and also their relationship with libraries. But what hasn\u2019t changed is Americans\u2019 love for books. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"apple_news_api_pending":"1713063886","relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[362],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[526],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-14540","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","category-libraries","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-internet"],"label":"Short Read","post_parent":0,"word_count":130,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2014\/01\/24\/10-facts-about-americans-and-public-libraries\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":26970,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp?w=355&h=317&crop=1","width":355,"height":317,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":26970,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":26970,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":26970,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":26970,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp?w=355&h=405&crop=1","width":355,"height":405,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":26970,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/01\/FT_libraries1-jpg.webp?w=355&h=462&crop=1","width":355,"height":462,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"10 facts about Americans and public libraries","description":"Technology and the internet are changing Americans\u2019 reading habits and also their relationship with libraries. 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