“Age appears to be best in four things—old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” —
Photo credit: Seth Anderson
On the blog: The science behind “the smell of books.” As a book ages, the chemical compounds used—the glue, the paper, the ink–begin to break down. And, as they do, they release volatile compounds—the source of the smell.
Do you love—or hate—the smell of old print books? If you read e-books, how does the experience of e-reading compare to reading in print?
Virginia Woolf memorably wrote:
I ransack public libraries, and find them full of sunk treasure.
Here’s to the glorious geography of ransacking: A stride-stopping map of the distribution density of public libraries.
Pair with these lovely vintage ads for libraries and this 1946 infographic on the state of public libraries.
In addition, we have a treasure trove of data and research on America’s libraries — who uses them, what we use them for, and what the future of libraries might look like.
Do you own a tablet? How old are you?
Unlike smartphones, which are most popular with younger adults ages 18-34, we see the highest rates of tablet ownership among adults in their late 30s and early 40s. In fact, almost half (49%) of adults ages 35-44 now own a tablet computer, significantly more than any other age group.
“The big insight here is that younger adults are not indifferent to privacy, as many seem to believe.” —
Our director Lee Rainie, who aids the AP’s Martha Irvine in shedding light on the recent misconception (in light of NSA findings) that young people don’t care about privacy.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=191207581
As of May 2013:
As of January 2013:
More mobile data: pewrsr.ch/xrBV6U
Tablet penetration is officially at 1/3 of the U.S. adult population.
Smartphones: 56%. Tablets: 34%.
#Mobile.
For the first time, cell phone ownership among U.S. adults has broken 90%.
28% of cell owners own an Android; 25% own an iPhone; 4% own a Blackberry.
The mobile phone saga visualized: This chart says it all. For the first time, more than half of all U.S. adults own a smartphone.
More new smartphone data: http://pewrsr.ch/11hzgIA
Oh how times have changed.
(Via http://pewrsr.ch/11SXxqF)
[video]
The Pew Research Center has released some interesting research into teens on social media. The major story that the press has taken from the research is that teens are supposedly tiring of Facebook, with many citing boredom due to “drama” and an ever-increasing adult presence.
(via We Are Social)
(via emergentfutures)
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According to our May 2013 survey, 85% of American adults use the internet at least occasionally.