Science has backed up what many of us have long been saying: the library rocks. A study from the New York Public Library surveyed 1,974 users on how the library makes them feel and how it affects their lives, and the results are overwhelmingly positive.
The researchers’ analysis (which used positive psychology’s PERMA model, if that means anything to you) discovered that libraries are good for people, their well-being, and their communities. Not only that, but the positive societal impacts are more pronounced in lower-income communities, even more reason to make sure we’re funding and supporting libraries. Don’t let the ghosts of Reagan and Thatcher tell you otherwise, government can help people!
Some top-line statistics from the study:
– 92% of respondents reported feeling somewhat to very “calm / peaceful” after visiting the Library
– 74% of respondents reported that their library use positively affects how equipped they feel to cope with the world
– 90% of respondents reported that their Library use positively affects how much they love to learn new things
– 88% of respondents reported that their Library use has supported their personal growth
Those are some big numbers and some uniformly good news — people are not only feeling better about themselves and their world after a visit to the library, but they’re feeling more secure in their world too.
The individual outcomes are undeniable: 89% of respondents said that the library had a positive effect on them having “more appreciation for things [they] did not know much about before” and 77% said the library made them feel “that what [they] do in [their] life is valuable and worthwhile.” You can get books at the library, but you can also fight your existential dread.
People are also moving away from doomerism in the stacks: 82% of visitors said use of the library “positively affects how optimistic they are about the future.” That’s not just for people visiting the brick-and-mortar library either: 58% of e-only users also get a sense of optimism from library interactions. It honestly feels like a miracle that anything connected to the internet would make people feel good, so this is a big win.
The community feelings the library engenders are very encouraging too: 75% say libraries gave them more positive feelings of “empathy towards others who may be different from [them],” 72% said it made them feel more connected to others, 66% felt “seen and heard,” and 70% felt like they are “part of a community.” Most touching to me is that 59% said the library had a positive effect on their “feeling that there are people in your life who really care about [them].”
What I find most charming in this study are the quotes, which the researchers highlight in “Patron Voices” sections. They’re full of great little lines, like people calling the library “a touchstone” and “a place to rely on,” and that “knowing it’s there makes me feel better about my life in the city.”
I really had to hold myself back from including too many of these patron quotes, because in a month when I’ve been feeling so, so down, reading all the nice things people have to say about the library felt like a hug from an old friend. Here are just some of them:
– “Space where I can just be me”
– “Books transport me”
– “Islands of calm, and I find balance within them”
– “It offers us hope that we can do something, that we can make a change, that we can advance”
– “Surrounded me with life’s possibilities”
– “Makes me feel useful”
– “The library gives you a sense of direction”
Tell me you didn’t tear up at that, and pal, I’ll show you a liar. Also these quotes are a great opportunity for some uplifting found poetry, if anyone’s looking for a new chapbook project.
So the takeaway? If you’re feeling unmotivated and unconnected, the library has now been scientifically proven to improve your well-being, the perfect antidote to all the push alerts and doomscrolling that’s bringing you down.
