Hispanic Americans, that were born in the U.S. are much more likely to use the public library than Hispanic immigrants, who make up half of the adult U.S. Hispanic population, according to new research from the Pew Research Center.
On average, 72 percent of Latinos ages 16 and older have visited a public library or a bookmobile at one point in their lives. However, 83 percent of U.S.-born Latinos have visited a public library at some point in their lives, which is closer to the average for white people (83 percent) and black people (80 percent). And only 60 percent of immigrant Latinos report having visited a public library or bookmobile.
The issue may be that immigrant Hispanics find the systems difficult to navigate. Only a third of immigrant Hispanics reported that it would be “very easy” to visit a public library. While 60 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics said it would be very easy.