But, Nobody Uses Libraries Anymore...

One of the things we always hear while campaigning for libraries is that nobody uses libraries anymore. But check out the data and you'll see something completely different.

December 31, 2023
  1. Home
  2. News and Articles
  3. But, Nobody Uses Libraries Anymore...

One of the things we always hear while campaigning for libraries is that nobody uses libraries anymore. But check out the data and you'll see something completely different.

That's why we're asking you to help us fight against this common misconception by simply clicking to tweet the facts below or sharing this as a post on Facebook.

 


We're working to educate American voters and fight against common misconceptions about libraries in the United States.
Every $10 we raise helps us reach 1,000 more voters with information like this.

  • Did you know that almost 100 million more people visit their libraries (1.3 billion) each year than see a movie at the theater (1.2 billion)? (CLICK TO TWEET)
  • Did you know that libraries are visited over 1.3 billion times a year which is 10 times more than MLB (68 million), NFL (17 million), NBA (22 million), Hockey (21 million), and Nascar (4 million) combined? (TWEET THIS)
  • Did you know that 5 million more people attend just library programs than go to MLB (68 million), NFL (17 million), and NBA (22 million) games combined each year? (TWEET THIS)
  • Did you know that more than 172 million Americans have library cards? That means that more than half of the American public has a library card right now. (TWEET THIS)
  • Did you know that librarians answer around 250 million questions from the public each year? (TWEET THIS)
  • Did you know that millenials use libraries more than any other generation? (TWEET THIS)
  • Did you know that Americans check out over 2.1 billion items from their public library every year? That's an average of 16 items a year for every American or 32 items a year for every card holder.(TWEET THIS)

Did you know that these statistics are only from public libraries? These numbers don’t even include elementary, middle, or high school libraries and they don’t include data from Academic libraries on college and university campuses. They also don’t include data from private or membership libraries or corporate, legal, or other special libraries. That means that the statistics for all library usage in the United States is wildly under-reported and the actual statistics for library use are even greater than what we’re reporting here. 

If you don’t believe these stats, you can check them for yourself. All of the data on public library usage comes from the Annual Institute of Museum and Library Services report. This report includes data on the over 18,000 public libraries in the United States.