
In 2019, Americans went more to the library than to the movies on average - rahuldottech
https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-visits-outpaced-trips-movies-2019.aspx
======
throwawaylolx
Just post the actual results: [https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-
visits-outpaced-...](https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-visits-
outpaced-trips-movies-2019.aspx)

Also, the results don't show at all that "more Americans went to the library
than to the movies" but rather that Americans went more to the library than to
the movies (on average), which is not very surprising given that only one of
them is free.

In other words, if 100 Americans went to the movies once, and 1 American went
to the library 101 times, the results would still rank libraries higher than
movies despite it being obviously not true that "more Americans went to the
library than to the movies."

~~~
qrbLPHiKpiux
Libraries are not free, just subsidized. Someone pays for them, and they're
not cheap. Also, they rely heavily on contributions and donations.

Just saying.

(council person)

~~~
jrh206
The original poster means: given that you have paid all your taxes, etc, the
marginal cost for you of going to the library and taking out a book is 0.

Of course the infrastructure costs money to maintain, and the people working
there are paid.

------
bstar77
Movie going is something that has been on the steady decline for years. The
reality is, people aren't replacing movie watching with reading, they are just
watching movies in a more private setting. Media consumption is at
unprecedented levels today so it's still dominating our focused time.

That said, it's wonderful that libraries are still relevant and that many
people still find them incredibly useful. The act of going to a library is
what's so amazing... you are actively leaving the comfort of your home and
leaving all of the distractions to visit a place that transitions your focus
to learning. Building that habit/ritual for young people is so important
because it will build a foundation for a love of learning.

------
dm03514
Our library (Eldersburg branch in carroll county MD) is vibrant!

I work from it M-F to get out of the tiny apartment and away from the kids.
The library runs "story times" a couple times a week for the kids. There is a
small kid play area that we frequent during winter or rain when we want to
kill an hour.

The coolest part is that there is a STEM center with robot, 3d printing, Legos
& Julia/Scratch machines. I also work from the "teen" section (because it
allows for talking and I have zoom meetings all day) which has: comics, xbox
one, and study rooms available.

There are always people tutoring out of the rooms and kids hanging out gaming
with switch/xbox fortnite. It's really cool.

~~~
rahuldottech
That sounds incredible! I wish we had something like that here.

------
theboywho
That doesn't mean Americans watched less movies (maybe even the opposite given
Netflix) or that Americans went to the library in 2019 more than they did in
2018. Going to the movies is probably a dying activity, comparing it to going
to the library is useless (or even worse: misleading), in that it pushes
people to think Americans are reading more by going less to the movies.

~~~
rossdavidh
I went to the library a couple times in the last few weeks, different
locations, and both had quite a few people in them. I haven't been to a movie
theater in quite some time.

I think part of what is going on here, is that the real movie junkies are
watching movies at home, whereas the real book junkies still go to the
library. So, both figures may be influenced by the most-frequent users, but in
different directions.

~~~
Insanity
I'm not sure about that, with things like Kindle and Kindle unlimited, book
junkies have a Netflix equivalent.

I read a lot but switched to ebooks almost entirely 2 years ago

~~~
II2II
Ebooks can be quite expensive or very inconvenient.

Reading a book a week from a major publisher usually costs more than a month
from a digital streaming service. Borrowing books requires some planning ahead
since much of what's worth reading has a wait list, assuming that it is even
available to libraries. Contrast that to print titles. You may be stuck
placing something on hold if you are looking for a particular title, but there
is usually something worth reading available.

~~~
Insanity
Mh, I hardly read books just as they come out - there's plenty to read and
there's kindle deals all the time. So I often end up paying between 1-5
dollars per book.

So that's somewhere between 4-20 dollars a month, and netflix spotify/netflix
both are about 15 dollars. So some months my kindle will come out cheaper,
sometimes more expensive.

But yeah, sometimes they are as expensive as print-book. Which is silly imo.

------
fmajid
I don't know if Americans are going to the library more, or shunning movie
theaters because of price increases and Hollywood's creative bankruptcy and a
lack of decent films.

~~~
adolfojp
I stopped going to the movie theater because the movie going experience has
become garbage.

They upgraded the sound system of every movie theater near me without also
upgrading the sound proofing. Now you can't watch a movie without hearing the
music and the sound effects of every other movie around you.

Ushers stopped enforcing rules so texting and talking has become normalized.
And a lot of people don't go to the movies to watch movies but to hang out
with their friends.

Some theaters "upgraded" to narrow seats to fit more people. You now sit
shoulder to shoulder and fight over who gets the arm rest.

I don't expect the situation to get better for two reasons:

1\. A local movie theater company has a total monopoly so they don't have any
competition and thus no need to improve.

2\. Teens are the largest movie going demographic and this new normal is to
them, normal.

~~~
astura
Wow, this is really surprising to hear because literally the opposite happened
around here, the experience has drastically improved in the last ~7 years. Now
multiple theaters have been converted to "luxury"-style theaters with huge
reclining seats, giant aisles, and dedicated arm rests with a swiveling side
table.

~~~
adolfojp
We have those too.

You get to enjoy the same noises and distractions while drinking wine and
reclining on a bigger seat.

------
lmilcin
I can totally understand. I want to go to the movies but every time I look at
the actual movies they are running it seems they are trying to scare customers
away on purpose with bad repertoire.

~~~
matwood
Agreed. I find comic book movies boring, so that removes a lot of options. I
did go to the movies for the first time in ~3+ years to see 1917. Great movie.
But, even with a movie I liked, the theater tried to ruin the experience by
showing ~30 minutes of ads/preview prior to the movie.

~~~
hashkb
Most theaters have reserved seating now. If you show up "on time" you're gonna
get ads and previews. Go 20 minutes late; if you're early, walk out and chat
or go to the little arcade they always have b

~~~
TulliusCicero
Oh really? That'd be awesome, when I moved to Germany a few years back where
reserved seats are more standard it was such a big improvement for the
experience.

------
dvduval
I guess I'm one of those frequent visitors to the library, and as strange as
it might seem I don't believe I have been to see a movie at the theater in
more than 10 years.

------
cryptozeus
Regardless of article’s accuracy in results, this trend I did not see coming
10 years ago.

Given the popularity of ebooks and internet, I thought libraries will slowly
go down. This is fantastic!

~~~
Magnets
I would guess that low-income families go to the library to use the computers
or wifi.

Possibly even for IT classes - especially the older generations

~~~
cryptozeus
Doubt people really go to library just for wifi. Everyone has smartphones now!

------
corporateslave5
This just more of a case of the decline of movies and rise of streaming

~~~
onion2k
That's not something you can hide behind a "just". As streaming becomes the
main source of funding for films that represents a _huge_ change to the
Hollywood and indie cinema landscape, and it'll have an impact on much more
than just the film industry (end of DVD retail, massive impact on multi-
entertainment venues like malls that have an attached cinema, impact on
branding as there are far more streaming film and shows dilutes the pool of
celebrities to endorse things, less likely to see merchandise tie-ins due to
that dilution... etc).

------
largespoon
I wonder how much outliers like college students scew the data. I practically
live at the library.

~~~
pwython
There's an age breakout here:

[https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-visits-
outpaced-...](https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-visits-outpaced-
trips-movies-2019.aspx)

I'm still surprised at the results. I'm in the 30-49 bracket, as is everyone I
interact with, and I'd be shocked if someone I knew has been to the library in
the past year. They would most likely use the internet for information.

~~~
marcusverus
Wild. I'm in the same bracket, and I'd say half of my friends and co-workers
in the bracket are library people. It's not a matter of going to the library
for information that is really available for free on the internet. I'm there
for the free books. If you read 40 books a year and are patient enough to
ensure the sometimes months-long waitlists for new and popular books, using
your local library could easily save you ~$400 per year.

------
caymanjim
It's weird to see going to the library referred to as a social activity. While
in many cases it may be a social activity that involves a stay, in most of the
cases I observe, it's brief and transactional, akin to visiting a convenience
store or a short-duration service provider (like a car wash).

I went to the library about eight times last year, and in every case I was
there solely to use their printer or fax machine (because if you don't work in
an office, this is about the only place to access these things; certainly the
cheapest). While there, most of the people I observed were either doing the
same thing, or were stopping in to briefly browse and check out books or
media. These aren't "social activities" unless buying a pack of gum at the
corner store is a social activity. A haircut is far more social for me, and I
had more of them last year.

My mother takes her great-granddaughter to the library a couple times a month,
for various fantastic events the library puts together, which are highly
social. They're well-attended, so I have no doubt that there are a decent
number of people who do legitimately socialize there, but I wouldn't count
most library visits as social events.

~~~
SolaceQuantum
I think it depends. In the libraries closest to me, any events are squirreled
away in conference rooms and other areas that wouldn't disturb people who are
in the same building to study, read, or use the facilities available. It makes
sense that you'd never encounter a social group if you only go to a library to
access a part of the library that would've been separated out.

~~~
caymanjim
The libraries near me are much smaller. Obviously my anecdotal observations
are a limited data set. Also, I just realized the article says "cultural
activity" rather than "social activity", which changes things a bit, but my
anecdote still stands insofar as I'm not really sure that much of the use I
see counts for that either.

Libraries are great. I'm just not sure we should be patting ourselves on the
back based on the usage I observe.

------
mxuribe
The ever-powerful pause button is what keeps me from going to move theaters;
for many years now. (Also the ridiculous pricing of theaters nowadays, even
though i support paying artists for their craft and work.)

Stepping back a bit...A few years ago - after we cut the cord on our
(stupidly/unnecessarily expensive) cable tv subscription, but before there
were several, decent streaming service offerings - my family and i would
borrow DVDs from our local library (including an odd book here or there). It
was wonderful! Sure, sometimes a desired movie would be out/booked by someone
else for weeks...But there were always other options, plenty of films to see
from classics to more recent stuff. Also, it felt nice to support our local
library. After a few years of this of course - when more streaming services
beyond only netflix became more prevalent - we stopped leveraging our local
library. The content of these streaming services became compelling enough, and
- provided that you don't over do it with too many services at once - their
pricing has been decent enough. So, for me whether it is borrowing media from
our library or subscribing to some decent streaming service, it is the fact
that i can enjoy all this content from the comfort of my own home __AND
__pause it (for me to take a food break, bathroom break, etc.) however
/whenever i wish is what keeps me away from move theaters. (Also, the cost has
a little impact...but by far and away, it is the pause button that drives my
behavior.)

In this day and age, I'm wondering if i should cancel 1 or 2 streaming
services, and go back to supporting our local library...even if only to help
prop up a decent institution for our society?

------
mark_l_watson
That makes me happy. I live in a small town (Sedona Arizona) but we have a
fantastic library, probably because we have several billionaires living in the
area so there is money for libraries, medical facilities, etc. that is unusual
for a small town.

I wonder how peoples’ perception on the state of the economy affects the
library vs. going to the movies decision. For many people in my social circle
they are doing better than ever financially and for some, worry about high
inflation (currently well over 6%, ignoring the big lie also known as CPI) and
reduced social security and Medicare benefits in the future.

Libraries are wonderful places to hang out and they are usually free.

------
lightedman
No need to go to the movies when most libraries have a media room with a fat
plaque on the wall stating the contract they have with pretty much EVERY movie
company, allowing them to screen films to the public.

Why pay when I can watch for free at the library?

------
gshdg
Now if only we’d fund libraries that way.

~~~
xtrimsky1234
I pay about 700$ per year in property taxes to my library. Thats much more
than what I pay for movies including netflix per year.

~~~
gshdg
You pay $700/yr in property tax total? Or $700/yr to the library specifically?
If the latter, what’s your total property tax? And where do you find info
about what amount of it goes to the library?

------
7thaccount
Now that I have children, the library is a regular weekly stop.

We've only been to one or two movies in the past year. There's enough on
Prime, Netflix, and Disney+ to be honest.

------
neiman
What's the criterion to be included in this list? They compare visiting the
library to live music, theater, casinos, theme parks or zoos. But all of the
other activities demand payment per visit, while going to a library is free,
so it's a bit unfair comparison.

I would also compare it to cafes and restaurants, those are also cultural
activities. I suspect that then libraries would fall behind.

~~~
aduitsis
Going to a restaurant is a cultural activity???

~~~
neiman
Nowadays? Definitely. People don't go to eat out "just not to be hungry", they
go for the experience.

~~~
thrwaway69
<rant>

Honestly this is such a weird growing expectation. I don't think it's what
people want anymore (they did previously) but companies are riling this up,
they are making people expect more and care about trivial things to justify
their existence and increased pricing. There's simply no single day I don't
get by without seeing, _care about the experience_ , _it 's all about the
experience_, _it 's all about how your literal USB cable makes someone feel
about themself_, etc in startup eco chambers.

<rant/>

------
xedrac
I go to the library far more frequently than the movie theater. There's just
something magical about libraries for me. So much collected knowledge and
creativity, yet unexplored. The smell of old books and the general atmosphere
seem to prime me for reading. The fact that I my wife and N kids tag along
probably helps the attendance numbers.

------
yayajacky
It’s a nice place to do remote work on

------
uncle_j
I am from the UK. But the last movie I watched in the Cinema was in 2014. It
is expensive and unnecessary. I bought in the new year a 60inch 4k HDR TV for
less than £400 from toshiba.

Why would you bother when you can get a similar experience at home without the
hassle?

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rossdavidh
Odd that, although they mention it's an update to a 2001 survey, they don't
link to that 2001 survey to compare. Were libraries going up since 2001, or
were movie theaters going down, or both? Google is not wanting to show it to
me, either.

------
pfdietz
Maybe dead malls should be turned into libraries. Really Big libraries.

~~~
VLM
Unfortunately, locally its a stereotype that they turn every dead mall's
anchor store into a movie theater.

Also, locally, most dead malls die when they can no longer afford to maintain
the roof, and water is pouring out of the ceiling everywhere until the
occupancy permit gets yanked and leases are broken, and flooding is exactly
what you don't want for books.

~~~
pfdietz
> Unfortunately, locally its a stereotype that they turn every dead mall's
> anchor store into a movie theater.

That happened at our local mall back in 2007. It's a bit of a triumph that the
mall is still around. The Target on the end is worth more than the rest of the
mall combined, I understand (Target owns that space rather than leasing it.)

------
planetzero
They might have gone to the library, but it probably wasn't for books. My
local library has a bigger selection of movies (and television shows) than the
last time I went to Blockbuster.

------
dudus
Lots of people doubting the stats here. And while I generally approve the
inquisitive nature of HN we maybe should take this time to be optimistic.

Good for Americans for breaking stereotypes. Congrats!

------
avocado4
I go to library almost every day - it's free office space essentially when
you're running a startup, with WiFi and printing.

I can't say the same about movies.

Seems like apples to oranges essentially.

~~~
quickthrower2
The downside is you need to pack up and lose your spot if you need the toilet

------
anonymous_i
I wonder if people actually opted to a library instead of movie. If so, I
wonder what would be the number of people who opted to a library instead of
TV/Netflix?

------
comment_guy
I'm curious if this is actually conflating homeless people who spend time in
the library as one of their only safe places, rather than actual library
patrons.

~~~
throwawaylolx
It is not. The original article has a breakdown based on income, which shows
similar trends for every income bracket:
[https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-visits-
outpaced-...](https://news.gallup.com/poll/284009/library-visits-outpaced-
trips-movies-2019.aspx)

But in any case, the conclusion in the title of the article is wrong and not
supported by the results.

~~~
nmstoker
Sorry hadn't seen your comment when I posted. I agree the title of the OP's
article is misleading.

------
molteanu
Might be related to the rise of Netflix and binge watching, though. Movie-
goers go down, the library/movie ration goes up. All is well.

~~~
cm2187
...or go watch movies on netflix at the library!

------
mgh2
Are the results segmenting for penniless students who went to the library to
study out of "obligation" rather than leisure?

------
Spooky23
I’d read more into the libraries are more popular than the popular opinion
would think rather than knocking the movies.

------
vulture916
Not going to lie, I definitely pirated a movie or two at the library.

------
agumonkey
Should we conclude about libraries or about hollywood output ?

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pointillistic
they are not reading books in the library, they are working on computers or
even streaming movies. I am in a library all the time, so this is what I
observe.

------
jamisteven
Yes, because Netflix.

~~~
mymythisisthis
Dirty loud theater, were the screen is too dark because they want to save the
life of the bulb vs. being able to start a couple of movies if one is bad.

------
ckdarby
> Women Visit Libraries Nearly Twice as Frequently as Men

Doesn't surprise me. It is pretty hard to "cat call" someone at a library with
the whole silence thing.

------
mmhsieh
how many went to use library broadband to watch videos and movies? that's what
i see all the time.

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momirlan
in my times, we used to go to the library to read books, wonder if that is
still the attraction

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dec0dedab0de
More Americans who answer surveys went to the library than to the movies.

~~~
dang
" _Please don 't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A
good critical comment teaches us something._"

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
dec0dedab0de
Fair enough. I was mostly just annoyed at the title, I'll make sure to keep
this in mind and bite my tongue if I don't have anything of value to add. :-)

------
asdf333
if you have kids, its an awesome place to go

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aj7
Even more watched porn on the internet.

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elfexec
You have to pay to watch movies at the movie theater. The movies you rent from
the library are free. And if your library is part of a network of libraries,
then you probably could find any movie you want to watch.

Mix that with youtube, netflix, prime, etc, and you really have little
incentive and time to go to the theater.

------
dang
Url changed from [https://lithub.com/in-2019-more-americans-went-to-the-
librar...](https://lithub.com/in-2019-more-americans-went-to-the-library-than-
to-the-movies-yes-really/), which points to this.

------
JoeAltmaier
...went to the library, to check out a movie?

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Account10999
Thanks for sharing!

------
xbmcuser
How many went to watch porn on library computers

~~~
kevinali1
102

~~~
xbmcuser
People took what I said as a joke but they should talk to some librarians and
tech support of public libraries.

