ATLANTA — In the age of BookTok and reading influencers, Gen Z is helping libraries make a comeback.
A new American Library Association study showed that "Zoomers" are cracking the spines of print books and visiting more physical libraries than older generations.
Joining Gen Zers, millennials were also surveyed in the group of more 2,000 young people. Turns out, from screens to pages, younger people are just comfortable switching media, researchers said.
Data from Portland State University in the study showed that 54% of Gen Z and millennials visited a physical library within the previous year. The study noted that not all of those surveyed identified themselves as readers.
“Not only are Gen Z and Millennials engaging with books, but they are also engaging with other forms of media. They are gamers, readers, writers, and fans who are comfortable with malleability between media categories and forms,” said Dr. Rachel Noorda, an associate professor at the university.
The study also claimed that young library users "sample" media and books before purchasing or subscribing to them.
"Libraries are popular among Gen Z and Millennials, even among self-identified non-readers. Gen Z and Millennials want and need the resources public libraries offer,” said Dr. Inman Berens in a news release. “Just as they flit between multiple media formats, they also jump between modes of access: libraries to bookstores to influencer posts to subscriptions, and back again. Libraries are a notable way Gen Z and Millennials discover books."
Young readers also read and bought on average twice as many print books each month as they did other forms of media, the survey showed.
To read more about the study, click here.
11Alive created a guide of metro Atlanta public library systems in the Georgia Public Library Services. Click here to read more about the library system.
