Despite the availability of information on the internet, a Gallup poll found that visiting a library was the most common cultural activity in the US, with respondents making 10.5 trips in 2019. Women visited twice as often as men, and cost is a factor as library services are free.
One would think that the availability of information on the Internet would end the popularity of public libraries in the United States. But you would be wrong. A Gallup poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults in December 2019 found that visiting a library was by far the most common cultural activity in the country.
Respondents said they made 10.5 trips to the library in 2019, compared to seeing a movie in a theater, ranking second on the list of nine recreational activities, with 5.3 visits annually. Women visited the library nearly twice as often as men, but men attended sporting events and visited national parks more often.
A trip to the library:
Americans listed attending a live sporting event in third place, with 4.7 visits annually, followed by a musical concert or theater event at 3.8 visits, and going to a national or historic park at 3.7 visits. Going to a zoo was last on the list with 0.9 visits.
The first public fee-paying library in the United States was established in Peterborough, New Hampshire in 1933.
Cost can be a factor: visiting a library and accessing its services is free. Previous research has found that 29% of Americans use the library to access computers, the Internet, and/or public Wi-Fi.
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