Presentation description

Scholars and policymakers have long argued that public libraries offer essential community resources during times of economic strife. However, to our knowledge, most of this evidence has been anecdotal or correlational. Using Public Library Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Business Dynamic Statistics Datasets, we present causal estimates of the effect of regional unemployment on local public library usage. From OLS and instrumental variable models, we find that from 2008 to 2019, increased rates of unemployment led to increased visits, circulation, and computer usage at local libraries. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these relationships reversed, with COVID-related unemployment causing a reduction in library activity. Reflecting on various dimensions of community need and library resources, we contextualize our results in the broader literature on public libraries as valuable economic resources.