A Pew study was released on December 30, 2007 reports positive news, especially for librarians who work with children and teens. The title is “Information Searches that Solve Problems: How people use the internet, libraries, and government agencies when they need help.” Whew. This study reveals that “Young adults in Generation Y (age 18-29) are the heaviest users of libraries when they face these problems. They are also the most likely library visitors for any purpose. Most of those who visit libraries to seek problem-solving information are very satisfied with what they find and they appreciate the resources available there, especially access to computers and the internet.”
What makes it even more interesting was that this study did not question across-the-board use of libraries. Obviously students will use the library more than the average 50 year-old, so this type of usage question could be misleading. Instead, they questioned people about how they find information to address problems such as finding a school, paying taxes, or dealing with a health problem. Those over 30 are less likely to use the library when searching for information to solve these problems. When investigating self-prediction of future searching strategies, “asked whether they would go to a library in the future to help them solve problems, 40% of Gen Y said they would, compared with 20% of those over age 30.”
Much has been done in regard to increasing access to teens and creating a library environment that is welcoming to young people. This study shows that this is a demographic we can’t ignore. First of all, they use the library and find our services valuable and helpful. Secondly, they appreciate the services and the technology that we offer. Third, they are the library users of the future; if they feel comfortable using the library now, they will continue to do so in the future.
Another interesting revelation is that there is a new digital divide of sorts. The “low-access population” includes people who either do not have the internet or have dial-up access. They use different strategies when searching for information and are less successful in finding what they need to address their problems or informational neeeds. It’s not just a digital divide between those who have access to the internet and those who do not. There is a heirarchy of users with broadband at the top down to dial-up and non-users. It is obvious that the digital divide between access and no access exists; we now have more detail in this heirarchy. Dial-up is the working poor of the digital divide; people who want internet access and can get it, but only at this “lowest” level.
