77% of Americans Say Libraries Provide Needed Resources

By Dianna Dilworth 

The majority of Americans (77%) consider public libraries to provide useful resources to the community, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center.

In addition, 66 percent of respondents said that if their local public library closed, it would have a major impact on their community. Only 19 percent of American adults have never visited a public library.

For the survey, Pew spoke with more than 1,600 U.S. adults age 16 and older. Some 80 percent of these respondents think that libraries should offer programs to teach people how to use computers and smartphones.  Here is more from the press release:

Overall, 53% of Americans have had some interaction with a public library in the past year – either through an in-person visit, a library website, or via a mobile app. Some 48% of adults specifically visited a library or bookmobile in the past 12 months, up from the 44% who said that in late 2015. And the number of Americans who visited library websites in the previous 12 months fell from 31% who said they’d done so in 2015 to 27% in 2016.