The New York Public Library Publishes New Study on Libraries and Well-Being

From the NY Public Library:

Libraries & Well-Being: A Case Study from The New York Public Library, a new white paper published by a groundbreaking partnership between The New York Public Library’s Strategy & Public Impact team and the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project within The University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, finds for the first time that public libraries have an essential role in society through their positive impact on community health and well-being.

“It is incredibly heartening to see the connection between libraries and the well-being of our communities underscored in this milestone publication,” Brian Bannon, Chief Librarian, Merryl and James Tisch Director of Branch Libraries and Education at The New York Public Library, said. “Libraries & Well-Being affirms the indispensable role that libraries have in society at large as institutions that actively promote well-being. The findings hold great relevance for public libraries throughout the country—whether they be in rural, suburban, or urban areas like New York City—as well as any policy maker tasked with considering how to meaningfully invest in the communities they serve.”

Use of the Library and its array of offerings and services—spaces, materials, staff, technology, programs, and other patrons—leads to meaningfully increased flourishing and, in turn, strengthened communities.

Data points from the white paper include:

• 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; and

• 88% of respondents reported that their Library use has supported their personal growth.

“Libraries & Well-Being is an innovative study in how it applies positive psychology frameworks to the library world, to show for the first time that library usage positively contributes to externally validated measures of well-being. Our research found that patrons experience refuge, joy, connection, purpose, and expansion through their library use,” Daphna Blatt, Senior Director of Strategy and Public Impact at The New York Public Library and Co-Author of Libraries & Well-Being, said. “This new study is also evidence that part of the magic of libraries lies in the physical and relational experience of them: the qualities of, and atmosphere in, our spaces.”

The survey found that the impact of libraries on well-being was especially strong for respondents who use the library in physical and time-intensive ways (e.g. space users and program attendees) and for those living in lower-income neighborhoods:

• 82% of space users and 79% of program attendees report that their use of the Library positively affects how optimistic they are about the future, versus 58% of e-only users; and

• 73% of respondents living in low-income ZIP codes reported that their Library use positively affects their “feeling that there are people in their lives who really care about them,” compared to 48% in high-income ZIP codes.

“Our collaboration opens the door to innovative research processes, yielding outcomes that are significant, timely, and actionable. This work extends positive psychology research into its understudied third domain of positive institutions and broadens positive humanities investigations into ways culture supports human flourishing,” Dr. James O. Pawelski, Professor of Practice and Director of Education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said. ”Among the outcomes are a more nuanced understanding of various stages of individual and collective flourishing, inspiring news about the positive role libraries play in our communities, and insights on how we can best support libraries to optimize their social benefits.”

Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, one of the founders of the field of positive psychology, and Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said: “Public libraries—those enduring and adaptive positive institutions—provide us with information, inspiration, and connection for staying resilient in adversity and for imagining and creating more fulfilling lives and thriving communities.”

The white paper marks a significant contribution to the field of positive psychology by studying the linkage between libraries and well-being, an area of empirical study that has heretofore been overlooked.

Direct to Report (Summary, Link to Full Text, Additional Resources)

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44 pages; PDF

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