Who says the library is going away?

(It's not, but it is changing.)

While millennials are moored in the digital age, they maintain a partiality for libraries and print. Pew Research published a report this past June about the library and technology habits of Americans aged 16-29. The full report is available here, but some highlights of the report include:

• Younger Americans under age 30 are now significantly more likely than older adults to have read a book in print in the past year (75% of all Americans ages 16-29 say this, compared with 64% of those ages 30 and older). And more than eight in ten (85%) older teens ages 16-17 read a print book in the past year, making them significantly more likely to have done so than any other age group.

• 80% of Americans under age 30 say it is “very important” for libraries to havelibrarians to help people find information they need

• 76% say it is “very important” for libraries to offer research resources such as free databases

• 75% say free access to computers and the internet is “very important” for libraries to have

• 75% say it is “very important” for libraries to offer books for people to borrow

• 48% of those under age 30 have visited a library website; 28% have done so in the past year. 18% of those under age 30 have visited library websites or otherwise accessed library services by mobile device in the past 12 months.