#library users

“It’s not necessarily that people use libraries and then find they’re happy,” Zickuhr said. It’s just that library users tend to be more open to the world. “People who have more access to economic, social, technological resources are also more likely to use libraries as part of their networks,” she said. Library usage tends to be a part of a bigger picture, in other words, in which a person who goes to the library also tends to be one who spends time at the park, takes part in civic organizations, and embraces new technologies. Maybe the rusty old convention of having a community institution that makes information accessible counts for something after all.

Most Americans do not feel overwhelmed by information today, and the people who feel “information overload” the most are actually less likely to use newer technologies — and less likely to use libraries: Some 18 percent of Americans say they feel overloaded by information — a drop in those feeling this way from 27 percent who said information overload was a problem to them in 2006. Those who feel overloaded are actually less likely to use the Internet or smartphones and are most represented in groups with lower levels of library engagement.

“A key theme in these survey findings is that many people see acquiring information as a highly social process in which trusted helpers matter,” Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and a main author of the report said. “One of the main resources that people tap when they have questions is the networks of expertise. Even some of the most self-sufficient information consumers in our sample find that libraries and librarians can be part of their networks when they have problems to solve or decisions to make.”