José-Marie Griffiths/Donald W. King: Public libraries are particularly essential in recessions

This article is from the August 2011 issue.

By Jose-Marie Griffiths and Donald W. King,  The Providence Journal: July 27, 2011

Griffiths and King examine the effects of the recession on library use by summarizing several federally-funded surveys. The following statistics are among their findings:

  • Every year over the past 20 years, visits to public libraries have increased by over 2 billion each year.
  • Jumps in use during recessions are not temporary; once a given recession ends, use remains as high or nearly as high as during the recession.
  • Nearly three-quarters of public library visits are non-recreational: reasons for using library resources include personal/family needs, childhood education and business research.

Visit the Providence Journal’s web site to read Griffiths and King’s editorial.

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