ALA News: “Gen Z and Millennials are using public libraries, both in person and digitally, at higher rates compared to older generations, according to a new report released today by the American Library Association (ALA). Gen Z and Millennials: How They Use Public Libraries and Identify Through Media Use draws on a nationally representative survey to reveal the attitudes and behaviors young Americans have regarding library use and media consumption.   Authored by Kathi Inman Berens, Ph.D., and Rachel Noorda, Ph.D., both of Portland State University, the report and survey data show that 54 percent of Gen Z and Millennials visited a physical library within the previous 12 months. Of the 2075 Gen Z and Millennials surveyed in 2022, more than half who self-reported visiting a physical library said they also borrow from a library’s digital collection. The data also revealed younger Americans’ distinct preference for physical versions of books: survey respondents read and bought on average twice as many print books per month as any other category.   “Great news: Younger generations of people are reading books, buying books, and visiting libraries,” said Dr. Noorda. “Not only are Gen Z and Millennials engaging with books, but they are also engaging with other forms of media. They are gamers, readers, writers, and fans who are comfortable with malleability between media categories and forms.”  Libraries are drawing even Gen Z and Millennials who don’t self-identify as readers. More than half of the 43 percent of Gen Z and Millennials who don’t self-identify as readers have been to their local library in the past 12 months.   “These digitally-immersed generations make clear that libraries are about more than books,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski. “Programming relevant to teens and their parents – coding clubs, job application help, gaming – draws even non-readers to the library, as does the physical space to connect and collaborate.”

• Library services and programs that attract non-readers are based on the specific needs of local communities and are the focus of the Public Library Association’s 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Survey.”