Millennials are the most likely generation to use public libraries, according to a recent study by Pew Research Center, a trend East Baton Rouge Parish Library System officials say is paralleled in Baton Rouge.
The 53% of U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 35 who visited a public library (not an on-campus college library) in the past 12 months outnumber all the other living adult generations, compared to 45% of Gen Xers, 43% of baby boomers and 36% of those in the silent generation.
In the past 20 years, libraries have undergone significant changes with the addition of more computers, literary services for children and “technology petting zoos” where patrons can learn and try different tech gadgets, which might have contributed to millennials’ higher public library use, researchers suggest.
Assistant library director Mary Stein says the East Baton Rouge library system is seeing more millennials come through their doors, an observation she attributes to the libraries’ improved physical spaces.
“Whether it’s the neighborhood library at Fairwood or the regional library at Bluebonnet or the Main Library at Goodwood, we’ve designed spaces for people to just be,” Stein says. “We’re seeing millennials come to just be when they’re in between other things.”
Young professionals might pop inside for a break in between meetings, Stein says, or members of Forum 35, with which the library has a partnership, might reserve a room for one of their gatherings.
Several local branches have either recently undergone or are undergoing renovations in the hope of attracting younger people, including upgrades at the Goodwood, Bluebonnet and Greenwell Springs locations, which are adding new laptop bars and collaborative workspaces.
Members of the youngest adult generation are also more likely than their elders to have used library websites. Just 31% of those surveyed said they use a library website, but nearly four in 10 of that group were millennials.
However, all are far less are likely to use apps, with only 8% of millennials, 9% of Gen Xers and 9% of baby boomers reporting using one from 2015-2016.
Stein says these trends are also echoed in Baton Rouge, with 18-35-year-olds utilizing the digital library to peruse book options, download comic books, live stream music or play video games.
The website also offers linda.com as a digital resource, which millennials use to boost their workforce development skills, she says, along with Mango Languages, another electronic resource where they can learn another language before traveling.
But Stein says the website’s success did not translate to the App Store; library officials abandoned their app shortly after developing one.
“We thought, with app fatigue, it was smarter to abandon it,” Stein says. “Instead, we put our programming efforts into creating a more responsive website.”
