A new national study from the
American Library Association (ALA) finds that Americans overwhelmingly
are very satisfied with their public libraries, agree more public
library funding is needed and believe public libraries will be needed
in the future. Two-thirds of adult Americans (roughly 135 million
people) visited their public libraries last year.

KRC Research & Consulting
conducted the study, which interviewed 1,003 adult Americans in a
national random-sample telephone survey conducted January 3-13. The
estimated margin of error is +/-3.1 percent.

Libraries and librarians – as well as the services they offer – are clearly valuable to Americans. Findings show that:

• Seven out of 10 Americans report being extremely or very satisfied with their public libraries – up 10 points from 2002.
• More than 8 in 10 Americans
  (85 percent) agree that their public libraries deserve more funding –
  including 58 percent who strongly agree.
• More than half of survey
  respondents (52 percent) believe $41 or more should be spent.
  Americans currently provide, on average, about $25 per year per person
  in local tax support for public libraries.
• Ninety-two percent of survey
  respondents believe libraries will still be needed in the future – even
  with all of the information available on the Internet.
• More than one-third of
  Americans put the benefits of libraries at the top of the public
  services list – as compared to schools, roads and parks – up 6 points
  from 2002.

The more frequent the user,
the more satisfied she or he is with libraries. In fact, Americans’ use
of library services has grown in almost every category – from taking
out books (up 14 points) to consulting with librarians (up 7 points) to
taking out CDs, videos and computer software (up 13 points) to
attending cultural programs like speakers or movie showings (up 8
points).

Nearly
all Americans (96 percent) agree that because public libraries provide
free access to materials and resources, they play an important role in
giving everyone a chance to succeed.

“Because
libraries offer free access to all — with help from professional
librarians — they bring opportunity to all and are a vital part of a
civil society,” said ALA President Michael Gorman. “Investment in
libraries is an investment in education and lifelong learning.”

Sixty-one
percent of library users report using the computer in some way –
including checking the online catalog, connecting to the Internet and
writing a paper or preparing a resume – when they visited the library.
African American and Hispanic adults are significantly more likely to
use their public library for job searches or writing resumes than
Caucasian adults.

“Public
libraries are essential components of vibrant and educated
communities,” Gorman said. “There are more than 16,000 public
libraries in this country. I encourage everyone to check out his or her
local library in person or online. Your library card is the smartest
card in your wallet.”

Nearly
two-thirds of Americans own library cards and report that taking out
books and using computers/Internet are the top services they use in
public libraries. The most frequent library users are women, younger
adults (ages 25 to 44), college-educated adults and parents of younger
children. Adults in the Midwest and West are more likely to have
visited their public library than their counterparts in the South and
Northeast.

For more information on this study, please visit www.ala.org/ala/ors/reports/2006KRCReport.pdf.

The American Library
Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library association in the
world with more than 66,000 members. Its mission is to promote the
highest quality library and information services and public access to
information.