[lbo-talk] Young adults use public libraries more than any other age group

[Bill Quimby]

This is an encouraging report, and I do not wish to rebut the
results. Please note however that there are (yes, I know that
they exist!) parents who do not have (or allow) Internet access
in their homes. In some cases they either cannot afford computers
(yes, it's true!) or they do not wish their kids to encounter
what they consider to be spurious gobbleydeegook. In one case
I know of the parents have a set of encyclopedias and a
fairly large library, and insist that their children work with that.

Hence, I suggest, the "young" may be upping the library's
statistics not because it's the library, but to get a step or two
beyond parental control.

- Bill


> [From report: "The notion has taken hold in our culture that these wired-up, heavily
> gadgeted young folks are swimming in a sea of information and don't need [libraries]."
> -B.]
> 
> 
> 
> Study: Young adults heavy library users
> 
> By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer Sun Dec 30, 6:05 PM ET
> 
> Young adults are the heaviest users of public libraries despite the ease with which
> they can access a wealth of information over the Internet from the comforts of their
> homes, according to a new study.
> 
> That's especially true for those who had questions related to health conditions, job
> training, government benefits and other problems. Twenty-one percent of Americans with
> such questions aged 18-30 have turned to public libraries, compared with about 12
> percent among the general adult population with those problems to solve.
> 
> Education-related tasks � making decisions about schooling, paying for it and getting
> job training � are the most common problems drawing people to libraries, according to a
> joint study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the University of
> Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
> 
> And people are going to libraries not only for the Internet computers there but also
> for library reference books, newspapers and magazines.
> 
> "The age of books isn't yet over," said Lee Rainie, Pew's director.
> 
> The study found that library usage drops gradually as people age � to 62 percent among
> Americans generally aged 18-30 compared with 32 percent among those 72 and up, with a
> sharp decline just as Americans turn 50.
> 
> "It was truly surprising in this survey to find the youngest adults are the heaviest
> library users," Rainie said. "The notion has taken hold in our culture that these
> wired-up, heavily gadgeted young folks are swimming in a sea of information and don't
> need to go to places where information is."
> 
> [...]
> 
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071230/ap_on_hi_te/internet_libraries 
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