History of libraries

A sign that American civilization is maybe not so close to collapse as you thought. A recent survey indicates Americans went to the public library about twice as often as they went to the movies. And it's not such a new finding. A similar poll had similar results twenty years ago, so it's not just that Netflix has reduced movie-going lately

Based on telephone interviews conducted in December of last year, the poll includes a sample of 1,025 adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Gallup asked participants how many times they had engaged in nine different leisure activities over the past year. Going to the library was the clear winner, averaging 10.5 trips. Seeing a movie at the theater was the second-most common activity, with an average of 5.3 visits, followed by attending a live sporting event, with 4.7 visits. At the bottom of the list was going to the zoo, which averaged just 0.9 visits.

The survey notes that the library is free to users, unlike the other activities.