I love the library.
Ever since I was a kid, the library has been a wonderland of knowledge, art and hardcover-bound literary adventure. It was like the Internet, only with relatively comfortable chairs and acres of shhh-worthy silence. (Oh, and no pornographic schmutz if you accidentally Dewey Decimaled the wrong title.)
However, according to a study of 6,000 Americans performed by the Pew Research Center, today’s young people aren’t seeing the library as such a venerated or even valuable place. In fact, the study stated that younger readers are “less likely to see public libraries as essential in their communities.” For instance, while a majority of people over the age of 30 still saw the library as an excellent spot for finding books, media and research assistance in a quiet, safe place, 60-70% of those under 30 replied to the idea with a resounding “Meh.”
OK, I can hear what some of you are grumbling, “It’s got to be due to the fact that kids have stopped reading and the Internet has snared their brains like a rat trap loaded with a sizable chunk of Old Growler Gouda.” But that’s not entirely accurate.
First of all, the Pew survey suggested that Millennials are out-reading their older peers. Some 88% of Americans younger than 30 said they read a book in the past year, compared with 79% of those older. OK, a book in a year isn’t a really high bar to meet, but the kids are still beating out their parents. And interestingly, among those who read at least one book in the past year, more than half said they tended to purchase their book rather than borrow it.
As for the Internet side of things, well, there’s no denying that it has changed the information-gathering playing field. But not solely in the way you might think. The research suggested that the web has actually increased people’s connection to library resources online. So folks might not be visiting the big brick building down the block for a physical book, but they’re still finding a lot of what they need on the local library websites.
And here’s one more important morsel culled from the study: That under-30 crowd—you know, the gang who most people consider to be the ones using Internet-connected technologies the most—were also the most likely to say that there is “a lot of useful, important information that is not available on the Internet.” How true, young ones, how true.
So, while many of that crew may be missing out on the splendors of a library sanctuary today, they might come in its doors seeking out further wisdom tomorrow. Then we seasoned library lovers can welcome them with an old-school smile and wrap them in a comfortable blanket of quiet reading bliss. Ahhh.
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