Electronic materials surge, yet print books are still loved!

The article below was in today's Worcester Magazine, included with the Worcester Telegram.

My comment:  There's no surprise that electronic materials surged while print book circulation dropped when libraries closed due to the pandemic. I found it interesting that "a Pew Research Center study found that young adults were more likely to read print books than ebooks, although most did read both. Ebooks were not a break from their regular activities, but physical books were." How many of us assumed that print books were the domain of "old people?"

Libraries see big increase in digital check-outs, but physical books hold appeal

FEATURED

RICHARD DUCKETT

It’s an interesting reading item.

According to CW MARS, a library consortium whose members consist of many local area libraries including the

Worcester Public Library, there was an increase of 34% in checkouts on digital content in member libraries in 

2020 over 2019.

In total, there were 1.808 million checkouts on electronic content during 2020.

“We were really pleased to see the usage. 2020 was our highest (digital) check-out ever — 461,000 more,” said

Jeanette Lundgren, executive director of CW MARS, which is at 67 Millbrook St...

While physical circulation in 2020 was down 54% from 2019 — probably largely accountable to the pandemic 

— the number of physical books checked out was 5.3 million.

“The year before it was over 11 million,” Lundgren said.  On the other hand, 5.3 million is more than 1.808 million

For the complete article go to: Telegram WoMag