Pew Research: a new way of looking at public library engagement in America

I saw this tweet this morning by @myleejoseph and thought it sounded like it was worth a read. Well, it sure was. I encourage you to go and read the whole article.

A new way of looking at public library #engagement in America http://t.co/CRxiC5SECU #libraries
— Mylee Joseph (@myleejoseph) August 7, 2014

This is really interesting research by the Pew Internet & Libraries people. It goes beyond reporting on use of libraries toward trying to look at the impact that public libraries have on the community. Going beyond measuring use and trying to measure impact is something that Simon Tanner talks about a lot. If you want to read more about this you can check out @SimonTanner on Twitter or his blog, When the Data hits the Fan!

There are a couple of really important messages here for public libraries to grab on to and share.

"The two groups that are highly engaged with public libraries include people who are also active in other parts of their communities."

What Pew found is that people who are highly engaged with libraries tend to be more engaged generally in their communities. They are, "more likely to know their neighbors, visit museums and attend sporting events, and socialize with families and friends on a regular basis. On the other hand, those who are less engaged with public libraries may be less engaged in their communities overall."

While it's not a direct link, it seems to me that if governments of all levels want highly engaged, active communities they would do well to ensure public libraries are well funded and well run.

They go on to make a link between the engagement of public library users and their socioeconomic status:

Broadly speaking, adults with higher levels of education and household income are more likely to use public libraries than those with lower household incomes and lower levels of education. However, among those who have used a library in the past year, adults living in lower-income households are more likely to say various library services are very important to them and their families than those living in higher-income households.
(emphasis mine)

For those people in lower income, lower education households who do use public libraries regularly the library plays a key role in their life. And that's a fantastic impact to have and key reason to exist.

Once again, if governments want to improve the lives of the people they could do a lot worse than ensure well funded, vibrant, innovative public libraries that offer services and programs for all members of the community.