The Hill recently published an article, "More Americans visited libraries than movie theaters in 2019," outlining a trend in the rise of library attendance across the nation. According to Gallup data, the average American adult visited the library 10.5 times throughout 2019.
Charleston County Public Library's communications manager, Doug Reynolds, says that local libraries are seeing that same trend. "We do see that people are rediscovering their local libraries and learning that they offer so much more than books now," he says. [content-1]
Last year Charleston residents visited area libraries 1,491,407 times. There were over 242,000 attendees at 6,428 programs (including lectures, activities, performances). And, as always, it cost each resident zero dollars to visit their local library branch.
As cited in The Hill, public libraries are one of the few free activities available to the average American: "The library, which is free and offers a variety of services including WiFi, is visited most by adults in low-income households and least by adults in high-income households."
Learn more about CCPL online at ccpl.org.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.