As US public library visits continue to decline, libraries are finding new ways to attract people. One of the aspects of library life that showed it can bring visitors is various library programs.

Over the years, public libraries increased their number, which brought more people in return.

• There were over 5.92 million programs held in US public libraries in the US in 2019, which was the absolute record in terms of volume.
• In 2020, even with the all-around lockdowns and other social distancing measures, public libraries still managed to organize over 3.58 million programs, 39.5% fewer than in 2019.
• From 2010 to 2019, the number of library programs increased by 57.4%, and from 2004 to 2019, the increase was 128%.
• The average US public library organized 205 programs in 2020 and around 339 programs in 2019.
• On average, around 16,235 public library programs are ongoing daily in US public libraries.

Year	Number of libraries	Total programs	Change	Programs per library
2020	17,454	3,582,491	-39.55%	205
2019	17,468	5,925,934	3.63%	339
2018	17,450	5,718,168	5.47%	328
2017	17,397	5,421,641	4.45%	312
2016	17,405	5,190,458	9.47%	298
2015	17,368	4,741,542	5.69%	273
2014	17,381	4,486,172	4.86%	258
2013	17,351	4,278,084	6.64%	247
2012	17,370	4,011,848	5.03%	231
2011	17,400	3,819,538	1.44%	220
2010	17,453	3,765,377	1.52%	216
2009	17,469	3,708,826	7.61%	212
2008	17,468	3,446,578	4.57%	197
2007	17,412	3,296,007	8.67%	189
2006	17,411	3,033,043	13.57%	174
2005	17,368	2,670,528	2.75%	154
2004	17,393	2,599,034		149
vs. 2010		57.38%		57.24%
vs. 2004		128.01%		127.03%

• In 2019, over 3.14 million public library programs for children were organized, accounting for 52.93% of all library programs for that year.
• Additionally, over 596,952 young adult programs occurred during 2019, 10.07% of all library programs.
• Adult programs accounted for 37.00% of all programs, over 2.19 million in total.
• From 2010 to 2019, the number of children programs increased by 35.47%, YA programs increased by 102.14%, and adult programs by 89.86%.

Library program attendance

Library programs have started attracting many people to public libraries, and today they play an important role in overall library attendance.

• Over 125.55 million people attended public library programs in the US in 2019, which was a record attendance since these numbers are recorded.
• 2020 brought a 37.4% decline in program attendance due to a 39% drop in the number of programs organized.
• Before the pandemic-affected 2020, visits to public library programs had been rising ever since this stat was tracked in 2004. Program attendance has increased by 44.56% since 2010 and 86.46% since 2004.
• Around 38,474 out of 100,000 US citizens visited a public library program in 2019, also a record number.
• Overall, library program visits account for 10.73% of total library visits in 2020, the most since program visits have been tracked.
• For comparison, in 2010, library programs’ attendance accounted for only 5.52% of total library visits, while in 2004 this share was as low as 5.09%.

Year	Total attendance	Change	Attendance per 100,000 inhabitants
2020	78,600,266	-37.40%	23,980
2019	125,553,781	2.14%	38,474
2018	122,918,370	3.65%	37,873
2017	118,587,252	4.67%	36,806
2016	113,299,417	6.62%	35,355
2015	106,264,695	4.16%	33,398
2014	102,021,471	5.55%	32,290
2013	96,653,699	4.23%	30,796
2012	92,731,935	3.92%	29,746
2011	89,233,144	2.74%	28,895
2010	86,851,266	0.54%	28,250
2009	86,384,372	4.84%	28,319
2008	82,398,814	4.50%	27,207
2007	78,853,021	4.81%	26,284
2006	75,234,329	6.15%	25,352
2005	70,878,311	5.26%	24,098
2004	67,333,786		23,155
vs. 2010	44.56%
vs. 2004	86.46%

• Over 81.84 million people visited public libraries’ children programs in 2019, accounting for 65.19% of total program attendance.
• Even though children’s programs are the most visited among all age categories, they’ve been growing at the slower pace compared to YA and adult programs.
• Around 8.89 million people visited YA library programs in 2019, and the number of visits to this group has more than doubled since 2010.
• Young adult program visits account for 6.77% of all library program attendance as of 2020.
• Adult programs gathered more than 34.81 million people in 2019 before dropping to 23.46 million in 2020.
• 29.86% of all library program visits come from adult programs as of 2020.

• Looking at per-program attendance, 21.94 people visited a single library program in 2020, a slight increase from the historic-low 21.19 attendees in 2019.
• Children’s programs are the most visited on a per-program basis as well, gathering around 26.75 per program as of 2020.
• YA programs have the lowest attendance-program ratio, with 14.23 visitors per program in 2020, the lowest since this stat is recorded.
• Adult programs gather 17.43 people on average as of 2020, an increase from 15.88 in 2019.