Leisure Time in Our Community - Public Library Usage

Overall, the number of visits, circulation, and attendance at children's program at libraries has increased throughout the 1993 to 1999 period. But the number of visits to a public library (4.3 per capita in 1999) has increased at a greater rate than circulation. In fact, total circulation went down by about 7.8 million materials between the years 1998 and 1999 while the number of visits went up by over 31.7 million. This may indicate that more people went to the library solely to take advantage of Internet access offered. In 1998, only 26.2% of households had Internet access at home, but 87.8% of libraries offered this service. Although the percentage of households with Internet access at home increased 58% from 1998 to 2000, a majority of households still did not have Internet access at home in 2000. However, 95.7% of libraries offered the service in 2000. In 2001, 5.4% of the population (15.4 million) accessed the Internet from public libraries.

More of us continue to take advantage of all the services offered by public libraries. The following table shows the number of households using the various public library services in 1996¹⁵. A little over a third of households didn't use any public library services.

Households Using Public Library Services in the Past Month, 1996

	Number of households (estimate)16
Borrow or drop off books or tapes	35,671,680
Other purpose, such as a lecture, story hour, or use of equipment	17,835,840
Calling library to renew books or for information other than hours or directions	13,872,320
Using a home computer to link to a public library	3,963,520
Having library materials mailed or delivered to the home	1,981,760
Visiting a bookmobile	1,981,760
Not using a public library in the past month	55,489,280

Why did we use public library services? The following table shows the percentage of households that use the library for selected reasons. The percentages do not add to 100 because a single household could have multiple reasons for using a public library. Also, some households did not use a public library in the previous month.

Reasons for Using a Public Library, 1996

	% of all households (estimate)
Enjoyment of hobbies, including borrowing books or tapes or attending activities	32
To get information for personal use, such as consumer or health issues, investments, etc.	20
For a school or class assignment	19
For a work assignment or to keep up to date at work	8
To get information to help find a job	5
For a program or activity designed for children ages 6 to 12	4
For an activity for children under age 6	4
To work with a tutor or take a class to learn to read	1

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Public Libraries in the United States: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999, various publication dates. Retrieved February 18, 2002 from http://nces.ed.gov. Internet data: U.S. Census Bureau. National Population Estimates. Retrieved February 20, 2002 from http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/national.php. U.S. Department of Commerce. A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet. February 2002. Retrieved February 19, 2002 from http://www.esa.doc.gov. Data for 1996 tables: National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. "Use of Public Library Services by Households in the United States: 1996." Statistics in Brief, February 1997. Retrieved February 18, 2002 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/97446.pdf. U.S. Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2001.