The commonly held image of a millennial is an annoyed twenty-something with their face buried in a smartphone, tablet or computer.
A recent study by the Pew Research Center, however, found something that may surprise people: millennials, those aged 18 to 35, are the generation most likely to visit public libraries. According to the study, about 53 percent of people in that generation said they used a library in the previous year.
That’s more than any previous generation going back to the Silent Generation, or those born from 1928 to 1945.
The study noted that its wording focused on public libraries rather than on-campus academic libraries.
“That doesn’t really surprise me,” said Nieca Nowels, director of the Marysville Public Library. “We do see a lot of people from that age group come through.”
Nowels said when she was going to school to work in libraries; the perception was that children would come to the library until they got their driver’s license.
“A lot of places, you walked to the library after school,” she said.
Once those children got that level of freedom, they’d stop coming until they began starting their own families.
Nowels said they are indeed seeing millennials come to the library, though they’re not necessarily spending a lot of time in the building.
“A lot of the millennials, they’re good at computers. They don’t need our help,” she said. “They’ll get on our catalogue, they’ll reserve things and they’ll come in and grab them up.”
This is compared to 45 percent of those in Generation X who used the library the previous year, 43 percent of baby boomers and 36 percent of those in the Silent Generation, according to the study’s results.
Lower cost is a big factor in library use. Millennials are often in the midst of student loans or building their credit. Many of them will take any chance to get a free book.
“When you’re neck deep in loans, in college loans, you’re looking for where you can save a buck,” she said. “A library is one of those places.”
Nowels said they haven’t seen a younger generation use their programming either. There have been a few millennials at the book club the library hosts at Dalton Union Winery, but that group generally skews a bit older.
“We try to do all-encompassing programming,” Nowels said. “So our adult programs tend to be fairly general.”
The library has seen success with programs aimed at younger children. There’s a teen writer’s group that meets there, and the library’s youth team is “pretty active.”
“We’re really trying to do more teen programming,” she said. “We’ve been seeing good turnout, not just for teen programs, but teen volunteers.”
Additionally, Nowels said she’s seen a “huge” increase in adult programming in the past year. That includes various book clubs, educational programs and more senior-focused offerings.
Nowels said the library’s goal has always been to provide educational and entertaining services to Marysville. With that in mind, they feel no pressure to get millennials in the door.
“I guess we’ve felt like they’re (already) in the door,” she said.