Is the Internet Killing Public Libraries?
Though a majority of Americans say they’ve used a public library in the past year, the number who believes public libraries will still be relevant in 25 years has dipped considerably from six years ago. The Internet is the research option of choice for most now.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of American Adults have used a public library in the past year, including 27% who have done so in the past month. Another 19% have used a public library within the last five years, while 20% last did so more than five years ago. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on August 27-28, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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