Gen Y Hits the Library the Most -- But Not For Books

Lucas123 writes "More than half of all Americans visited a library this past year and, of those, most were from Generation Y, the tech-loving young adults aged 18-30 years, according to a recent survey. The reason most cited for visiting their local public archive? Not books. Most were seeking gaming software programs, characters in the Second Life virtual world and online help with homework."
Another way to think about the results: about 47 percent of Americans didn't visit a library even once last year.

Comments

Do I offset this?

[Smordnys s'regrepsA]

I visited the Library at least once a week, ONLY for books. I browse every new book in the new section, hit up the SciFi section, see if there is a new romance book that suits my needs. I'll be there for about an hour, and sometimes I'll head over to Bookmans for a used book afterwards if I can't find what I want. If I'm willing to wait, I use the library's electronic catalog to order the book, and pick it up when I stop by next week.


I can't get a single friend to visit the library, but when I see a book I *know* they will love, I check it out for them, and make them borrow it. I routinely have to borrow ~4 books at a time, just so I have one to read.

So, how about average number of books checked out, because I can't be the only person who brings home entertainment for the masses.

Re:That would be me

[jovin6]

I buy books instead of borrowing them. I never understood the rationale behind buying books. I read a good amount, mostly science fiction, but a good deal of classic literature as well. Even so, I rarely reread books, and buying them seems like a tremendous waste of money and paper. For those of you who buy books regularly, do you really read them 3+ times? Or is there some other reason you do it instead of going to the library?

Re:That would be me

[Mr Z]

Easy: I buy reference books, not fiction. :-) I don't even read the whole thing once, but I do read many portions repeatedly, and it tends to be demand-driven random access. That said, I did read "Effective C++" pretty much linearly cover-to-cover when I got it, as well as "The Algorithm Design Manual." I'll still go back and reference bits randomly.

Aside from that, there's my, erm, "throne of learning" book set, which currently consists of "Areas of My Expertise" (which I did read cover to cover, and will probably re-read bits of for a muse), and "A New Kind of Science", which I'm about 1/3rd of the way through. ANKOS is big enough that I can't possibly read it as a borrowed book. And, it has pretty pictures... I'm sure I'll go back and borrow some of the automata to repurpose them. And as for having books in the john... I know I'm not alone.

So, I guess there's two rationales: Reference books get reused, and many people read books while in the bathroom. As for the former, it's nice to keep the book. As for the latter... wouldn't you like one that hasn't been in the bathroom yet?

--Joe