With the increasing amount of technology in students’ lives it would make sense that students would be reading less and using libraries less than their parents. But in a recent Pew Research Center study it was found that students are reading even more than their parents and are spending more time in libraries.
The study looks at the millennial generation, which is classified as anyone born in the early 1980’s to the early 2000’s. Many millennials are now in college and according to Pew even though they use technology and the Internet much more than earlier generations, they are more likely to have read a book in the last 12 months.
This includes electronic media like e-readers and books that are loaded onto laptops. This fits into a much larger use of technology by millennials. They are reading more but use technology in a more modern way of getting their content. On the other hand, older teens, aged 16-17, are more likely to read print books, more likely to read for work or school, and more likely to use libraries for books and research. Older teens are less likely to say that they highly value public libraries, according to Pew.
The report says that millennials are more likely to have visited a library in the last 12 months than older adults. This could be skewed result because college students do spend a lot of time in libraries working on homework or studying for a test.
Also, it says that while most younger Americans know where their local library is, and 36 percent of millennials say they know little or nothing about the local library’s services, compared with 29 percent of Americans who are 30 or older. But as a general population, most younger Americans know where their local library is.
Millennials make use of the technology libraries offer much more than their parents. This makes sense because millennials, as a generation, have more technology in their lives than any other and they have know how to use it.
But the report notes that age is not the only factor in Americans’ use of public libraries. The study says that information like proximity and the social networks a family have a part in younger Americans’ use of libraries.