Web 2.0, Libraries & Generation Y...Oh My!
The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new study on December 30th about the research capabilities of Americans and their use of public libraries. The study - Information Searches That Solve Problems: How People Use the Internet, Libraries, & Government Agencies When They Need Help - show some surprising findings:
- More than half of Americans visited a library in the past year with many of them drawn in by the computers rather than the books.
- Of the 53 percent of U.S. adults who said they visited a library in 2007, the biggest users were young adults aged 18 to 30 in the tech-loving group known as Generation Y.
- The survey showed 62 percent of Generation Y respondents said they visited a public library in the past year...
- Most people use multiple avenues to find information: 64 percent of those who went to the public library were very successful; 63 percent of those who used the Internet were very successful.
The report's findings were against popular stereotypes, especially in relation to Teens & Twenty-somethings. "We were surprised by these findings, particularly in relation to Generation Y," said Lee Rainie, co-author of the study and director of the Pew project.
Take a look at the recent Web 2.0 column in the online tech magazine, TechNewsWorld - "Survey: Techie Gen Y Is Also Library-Savvy." It has some pretty flattering stuff to say about libraries and their adoption of tech solutions.
The report was also covered in Yahoo! News and Assosiated Press.
