Latest Pew Report On Library Use

This report on Library Services in the Digital Age, based on a survey of 2,252 Americans ages 16 and up between Oct 15 and Nov 10, 2012 - conducted in English and Spanish on both land and cell phone lines, is full of fascinating findings:

Blacks and Hispanics are more likely than Whites to use proposed new library services, like:

kiosks throughout the community to check out books/movies,
e-book readers loaded with books you want to read,
instruction on how to use e-book reading devices,
customized on-line suggestions based on your previous borrowing activity,
and even a cell GPS app that helps you locate material in a library.

and when asked about

Offering a broader selection of e-books: 53% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

These numbers were important:

80% of Americans say borrowing books is a “very important” service libraries provide.

80% say reference librarians are a “very important” service of libraries.

77% say free access to computers and the internet is a “very important” service of libraries.

There's much more to discover in the research so check it out yourself.

It's interesting to note how the media spins things to match up with a meta-narrative of the decline of books and libraries as a fear-based response to change  - change which in a different light might be seen as positive evolution!  The LA Times article about this Pew Research Report was titled, "Not dead yet: Libraries still vital, Pew report finds."  Which is a pretty backwards way of presenting it. 

Bottom line?

Fully 91% of Americans ages 16 and older say public libraries are important to their communities; and 76% say libraries are important to them and their families.

And for us writers and illustrators?  That's good news.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee