A New ALA Report

A new publication by the American Library Association reports:

The importance of libraries in American life continued to grow in 2008—and accelerated dramatically as the
national economy sank and people looked for sources of free, effective help in a time of crisis.

A Harris Poll released in September revealed that 68 percent of Americans have a library card, an increase of 5 percent since 2006. In-person visits increased 10 percent in the same period, and 76 percent of Americans had visited their local public library in the year preceding the survey, compared with 66 percent two years ago.
Online-visit data were even more remarkable: 41 percent of library card holders visited their library websites in the year before the poll, compared with 24 percent in 2006.

Unfortunately, in hard economic times, local governments will face budget constraints likely to be transferred to their libraries. As people need the libraries more, the libraries will have fewer resources.