Library use grows

Library use grows, but varies by region; Utah among states at topBy Ledyard King
Gannett News Service (July 17, 2008)
“WASHINGTON – Each year, more than 1 billion people visit libraries to borrow books or videos, log onto the Internet or participate in various community programs.
But government support for libraries, and how much community residents use them, varies widely across the country. Gannett News Service analyzed data obtained from the federal government’s National Center for Education Statistics for 2002 and 2005 and from individual states for 2006.”
Highlight from the data are (chekc the full article for more):
– “Visits to libraries nationwide increased roughly 10 percent between 2002 and 2006 to about 1.3 billion.”
– “The South lags the rest of the country in per-capita visits to libraries,”
– “Circulation … increased nationwide about 9 percent, from 1.66 billion to 1.81 billion, between 2002 and 2006.”
– “The number of Internet-capable computers soared 38 percent between 2002 and 2006 – from about 137,000 to nearly 190,000.”
– “Nationally, library spending on day-to-day costs such as staffing and materials was $31.65 per person in 2005. The District of Columbia, and local governments in Ohio and New York topped the list, spending at least $50 per capita. Local governments in Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee spent the least – less than $17.”
Lots of good stuff here. And libraries always show increases during difficult economic times.
Stephen