Released: December 11, 2013

How Americans Value Public Libraries in Their Communities

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Summary of Findings


The importance of public libraries to their communities



Meanwhile, while most Americans feel that libraries have done a good job embracing new technology, they are split on whether public libraries are as essential as they were in the past for finding information:

Though many library services are seen as important, there are varying levels of enthusiasm for different services

Some 91% of Americans say they have had some exposure to libraries in the past, and we asked these  respondents  a series of questions about the importance of various library services to them and their families. 1


Women, African-Americans and Hispanics, adults who live in lower-income households, and adults with lower levels of educational attainment are more likely than other groups to declare all the library services we asked about “very important.”  Adults ages 30-64 are also more likely than younger or older respondents to say many of the services are “very important,” as are parents with minor children.


Most Americans know where their local library is, but many are unfamiliar with all the services they offer.

How well informed do you feel about the different services your public library offers?Libraries are well known in their communities and they are usually easy to get to and relatively easy to navigate. Asked about their ability to access public libraries and public library websites:

Despite the fact that libraries are easily available to most, there are large numbers of Americans who say they are not sure about all the services libraries offer. Echoing the findings of our 2012 survey, 23% of those who have ever used a public library said they feel like they know all or most of the service and programs their library offers, while a plurality (47%) said that they know some of what it offers. About one in five (20%) say they don’t know very much about what is offered, and 10% say they know “nothing at all.”


Over half (54%) of Americans  ages 16 and older have used a public library in some way in the past 12 months, whether by visiting in person or using a public library website:

Additionally, among parents with minor children living at home, 70% say that a child in the house has visited a public library or bookmobile in the past 12 months.

Taken together, this means that 72% of all Americans ages 16 and older have either used a public library in the past 12 months or live in a household where another family member or a child is an active recent user of the library.

Most Americans who have ever used a public library have had positive experiences

Among all Americans who have ever used a public library:

  1. This includes the 86% of Americans ages 16 and older who have ever visited a library or used a library website, and the 54% of Americans who say other members of their household are library users.