Headin' for Duh libary!

As an author of 6 books (so far), I'm always delighted to hear that more people are reading more books. And so I welcomed a new Gallup poll from the U.S. that reveals the average number of library visits is increasing. In fact, it's almost double the average number of movie theater trips. And what's even better news is that this is especially true for young adults. When we read that education in North America seems to be slipping, this is indeed encouraging news. Reading is at the very heart of learning.
      The survey confirms that Americans’ favorite leisure activity in 2019 was going to the Library. In fact, the Gallup poll revealed that Americans head off to the library more often than they participate in any other leisure activity. The poll asked adults how many times they participated in common cultural activities last year, such as going to live music events, zoos, or their local library, and on average, Americans visited the library 10.5 times over the course of last year, far and away the most frequent activity on the list. Cool, huh?
       The poll also found that women visit the library almost twice as much (not a surprise when you realize a stat that we authors must respect: more women read books than men). The guys answering the survey admitted to higher rates of engaging with casinos, national or historical parks, and sporting events. Younger adults ages 18-29 were particularly frequent library-goers, visiting more than any other age group (though Gallup noted that this may be due to college attendance being higher in this category). Although high-income households participated more in leisure activities in general, low-income households had a greater average number of library visits, perhaps due to libraries being free and offering access to resources like Wi-Fi. I should also point out that in Canada, libraries are diversifying and offering more than books as learning resources. I assume that development is happening state-side too.
      All of this is surprising news to me...and good news!

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