More Americans Are Going to Libraries Than to Movies

Per a Gallup poll that bookworms will love
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 28, 2020 10:51 AM CST
More Americans Are Going to Libraries Than to Movies
Stock photo.   (Getty Images / Chinnapong)

Next time you're concerned about the state of the world today, consider this: More Americans are going to the library than to the movies. That heartwarming stat is brought to you courtesy of a Gallup poll looking at nine common leisure activities, LitHub reports. Here's the average of how many times respondents said they did each of these things in 2019:

  • Went to the library: 10.5
  • Saw a movie at a theater: 5.3
  • Attended a live sporting event: 4.7
  • Saw live music or theater: 3.8
  • Visited a national or historical park: 3.7
  • Went to a museum: 2.5
  • Went to a gambling casino: 2.5
  • Visited an amusement or theme park: 1.5
  • Went to a zoo: 0.9

The last time this poll was taken was 2001, and the overall rankings have remained the same. Among the more specific findings: Women reported visiting the library an average of 13.4 times over the previous year, compared to 7.5 times for men. But men reported more visits to casinos, sporting events, and parks than women did. And the 30- to 49-year-olds reported the most activity of any age group, except when it came to libraries and casinos, both of which were visited more often by younger people. As for movie-going, adults with children reported going to the movies at about twice the rate of adults without kids in the household. See more at Gallup. (More libraries stories.)

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