Online Learning Brings Young Students Back to the Library

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Jennifer Brady

Here’s a surprising stat:

Young adults are the heaviest users of public libraries despite the ease with which they can access a wealth of information over the Internet from the comforts of their homes, according to a new study.

That’s from this news item found in the Star-Gazette by Anick Jesdanun of The Associated Press who is writing about a joint study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

What’s driving the 18- to 30-year-olds group back to the public library? According to Pauline Emery, director of the Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, it is the online learning revolution:

“A lot of them are taking online classes, and they need the technical support that sometimes they can’t afford. So if they can go to the library and use our services for free, that’s a benefit for them. A lot of people are living on real tight budgets.”

“We have wireless, too. That’s increased our usage,” Emery said. “I think we are definitely like the bridge to that technology divide. I think that’s what libraries need to do, make sure everybody has access.”

But Internet access isn’t the only reason young people are coming back to libraries, at least according to some:

Leigh Estabrook, a retired professor of information science and sociology at the University of Illinois, said young adults used to finding information online are likely to crave even more and realize they need to turn to libraries to get it.

So this begs a question of online learners… do you agree? Do you find yourself visiting the library more often as a result of learning online?