More Americans Visited the Library than the Movies Last Year

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There is a lot of adventure to be had when reading a book.

Libraries are not dying as you might believe. In fact, a Gallup poll found that Americans visited the library more than the movies last year.

U.S. adults were reported to have taken an average of 10.5 trips to the library, according to the poll. This is twice as many times people went to the movies. Instead they went to live music and theatrical events as well as national or historic parks.

Even trips to amusement parks and zoos were less common on the list of places to visit.

Gallup conducted phone interviews between Dec. 2 and 15 with a sample of 1,025 random adults as an update to a survey the company conducted back in 2001.

Despite the popularity of digital media-based activities over the past two decades— i.e. digital books, podcasts, streaming and gaming— libraries have endured as a place of common visits because it still adds value to communities.

A 2016 Pew Research Center report found that two-thirds of Americans said that closing local libraries would hurt their communities. Libraries still offer a range of services that help people improve their skills, learn new things and entertain themselves.

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