United States: 45% fewer library visits, but 35% more events
In 2024, libraries had 0.87 billion visits versus 1.57 billion in 2010; 5.1 million events versus 3.8 million, with 105 million attendees versus 87 million.
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Visits have fallen: they were declining before the pandemic and have not recovered since. Events and attendance exceed their 2010 levels: the libraries’ role is changing.
One percentage scale relative to 2010: 0% is the starting value, +100% is a doubling, −50% is a halving. Lines show the yearly path; on a short screen, bars show the change to 2024. Equal distances mean equal relative changes. For shares, this is relative change, not percentage points. Gaps are not filled; original values and units are below.
- Public library visits visits, sum of available values
1,574,023,474 (2010) → 869,121,923 (2024)
- Library programs programs, sum of available values
3,765,377 (2010) → 5,084,554 (2024)
- Library program attendance attendances, sum of available values
86,851,266 (2010) → 105,295,221 (2024)
Published 2010 and 2024 values. No gap filling. Change is a difference in values or 100 × (end / start − 1). No causal effect is estimated.
Sums for libraries in 50 states and DC, including IMLS imputations; not a fixed panel. Fiscal years, coverage, event definitions and response completeness change. Visits and attendance are events, not unique people.
A question for this picture
How does the library’s role change across borrowing, meetings, learning and internet access?