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That doesn't mean Americans watched less movies (maybe even the opposite given Netflix) or that Americans went to the library in 2019 more than they did in 2018

That doesn't mean Americans watched less movies (maybe even the opposite given Netflix) or that Americans went to the library in 2019 more than they did in 2018. Going to the movies is probably a dying activity, comparing it to going to the library is useless (or even worse: misleading), in that it pushes people to think Americans are reading more by going less to the movies.

rossdavidh 7y ago
I went to the library a couple times in the last few weeks, different locations, and both had quite a few people in them. I haven't been to a movie theater in quite some time. I think part of what is going on here, is that the real movie junkies are watching movies at home, whereas the real book junkies still go to the library. So, both figures may be influenced by the most-frequent users, but in different directions.
- Insanity 7y ago
  I'm not sure about that, with things like Kindle and Kindle unlimited, book junkies have a Netflix equivalent. I read a lot but switched to ebooks almost entirely 2 years ago
  - II2II 7y ago
    Ebooks can be quite expensive or very inconvenient. Reading a book a week from a major publisher usually costs more than a month from a digital streaming service. Borrowing books requires some planning ahead since much of what's worth reading has a wait list, assuming that it is even available to libraries. Contrast that to print titles. You may be stuck placing something on hold if you are looking for a particular title, but there is usually something worth reading available.
    - Insanity 7y ago
      Mh, I hardly read books just as they come out - there's plenty to read and there's kindle deals all the time. So I often end up paying between 1-5 dollars per book. So that's somewhere between 4-20 dollars a month, and netflix spotify/netflix both are about 15 dollars. So some months my kindle will come out cheaper, sometimes more expensive. But yeah, sometimes they are as expensive as print-book. Which is silly imo.
  - theboywho 7y ago
    I go to the library almost every week and it’s almost never to borrow books. I go there to work or to read (sometimes on my kindle) because of how quiet it is.
    - joegahona 7y ago
      Lucky you. My library seems to double as a day-care facility. The local coffeeshops are quieter.
  - officemonkey 7y ago
    I've been getting ebooks from my library for at least three years. Your library probably uses the Libby app (from Overdrive) which makes searching and checking out ebooks and audiobooks a snap. I'm a cheapo, so I'm always looking for ebook deals. Waiting a couple months to buy a new expensive book I'm interested in (for free) is not a problem for me.
    - joegahona 7y ago
      I've been unpleasantly disappointed by the Overdrive app. It seems like nothing I want is available through it, or the tie-ins to the libraries are convoluted and difficult to navigate. My experience has been that it's great if you want classics or fiction (I think I borrowed "Old Yeller"), but for books like you'd read about on HN, I've struck out.
      - officemonkey 7y ago
        You are correct. The Overdrive app is garbage. It's successor is the Libby app. It's fantastic. If you're not using the Libby app, you are missing out.
  - rossdavidh 7y ago
    There has been, since about 2012, an almost complete lack of increase in the market share of eBooks compared to print books. eBooks appear to have peaked at around 20%, and might even be poised to decline as audiobooks gain ground. https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/23/20991659/ebook-amazon-kindle-ereader-department-of-justice-publishing-lawsuit-apple-ipad https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/23/20991659/ebook-amazon... Also, libraries are used for a lot of things other than checking out books. Austin's library has boardgames available (I see people playing them there), and a lot of music and movie media.
    - joegahona 7y ago
      I think the insane price of ebooks is to blame for this. I've recently purchased print books for this reason -- the ebook was actually more expensive.
- qihqi 7y ago
  Real movie junkies probably also go to library to borrow bluerays.
VLM 7y ago
Can google for "statista Number of movie tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada from 1980 to 2018" and you'll find a graph showing movie ticket sales smoothly grew and peaked around the turn of the century and have declined about 20% since the turn of the century. Revenue is an entirely different graph, where revenue increased in an exponential curve in the 90s, but around the turn of the century has gone to a very slow linear increase, also about 20% since the turn of the century. Note that US population went up about 15%, I would assume entirely due to immigration, from 282M to 327M. Annual average CPI from bls.gov shows 172 in 2000 and 255 in 2019, so figure somewhat above 33% inflation since 2000. So, since the turn of the century, sale quantities are falling about 40% behind population based estimates, whereas revenue is increasing slightly faster than population but vastly slower than inflation. It would seem casuals and the general public are no longer going to the movies, its the kind of thing you see in extracting maximum revenue from superfans type of thing. Trying and failing to keep up with inflation by appealing more so to an ever shrinking audience of the most motivated fans. This would fit in with anecdotal "common sense" reports of the product being very formulaic and ever more narrowly targeted. In the end, markets with shrinking mindshare and shrinking revenue relative to inflation, are usually doomed. Either things will get shaken up and all the trend lines will change or the entrenched legacy players will eventually financialize themselves out of business sooner or later.
hrktb 7y ago
The usefulness of the number depends on your perspective (some would say agenda) If you want to build a library and some official tells you the place would be better used for a movie theater, you have a reference number to argue. Some people are positing with a straight face that libraries are a thing of the past and the ROI is low now that we have amazon. Explaining libraries are useful is actually not trivial, especially as they don’t directly make money. Slightly off topic, but equating library with “reading” is not in line with today’s libraries, which represent a lot more than a place to borrow old books.

rossdavidh 7y ago

I went to the library a couple times in the last few weeks, different locations, and both had quite a few people in them. I haven't been to a movie theater in quite some time. I think part of what is going on here, is that the real movie junkies are watching movies at home, whereas the real book junkies still go to the library. So, both figures may be influenced by the most-frequent users, but in different directions.

Insanity 7y ago
I'm not sure about that, with things like Kindle and Kindle unlimited, book junkies have a Netflix equivalent. I read a lot but switched to ebooks almost entirely 2 years ago
- II2II 7y ago
  Ebooks can be quite expensive or very inconvenient. Reading a book a week from a major publisher usually costs more than a month from a digital streaming service. Borrowing books requires some planning ahead since much of what's worth reading has a wait list, assuming that it is even available to libraries. Contrast that to print titles. You may be stuck placing something on hold if you are looking for a particular title, but there is usually something worth reading available.
  - Insanity 7y ago
    Mh, I hardly read books just as they come out - there's plenty to read and there's kindle deals all the time. So I often end up paying between 1-5 dollars per book. So that's somewhere between 4-20 dollars a month, and netflix spotify/netflix both are about 15 dollars. So some months my kindle will come out cheaper, sometimes more expensive. But yeah, sometimes they are as expensive as print-book. Which is silly imo.
- theboywho 7y ago
  I go to the library almost every week and it’s almost never to borrow books. I go there to work or to read (sometimes on my kindle) because of how quiet it is.
  - joegahona 7y ago
    Lucky you. My library seems to double as a day-care facility. The local coffeeshops are quieter.
- officemonkey 7y ago
  I've been getting ebooks from my library for at least three years. Your library probably uses the Libby app (from Overdrive) which makes searching and checking out ebooks and audiobooks a snap. I'm a cheapo, so I'm always looking for ebook deals. Waiting a couple months to buy a new expensive book I'm interested in (for free) is not a problem for me.
  - joegahona 7y ago
    I've been unpleasantly disappointed by the Overdrive app. It seems like nothing I want is available through it, or the tie-ins to the libraries are convoluted and difficult to navigate. My experience has been that it's great if you want classics or fiction (I think I borrowed "Old Yeller"), but for books like you'd read about on HN, I've struck out.
    - officemonkey 7y ago
      You are correct. The Overdrive app is garbage. It's successor is the Libby app. It's fantastic. If you're not using the Libby app, you are missing out.
- rossdavidh 7y ago
  There has been, since about 2012, an almost complete lack of increase in the market share of eBooks compared to print books. eBooks appear to have peaked at around 20%, and might even be poised to decline as audiobooks gain ground. https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/23/20991659/ebook-amazon-kindle-ereader-department-of-justice-publishing-lawsuit-apple-ipad https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/23/20991659/ebook-amazon... Also, libraries are used for a lot of things other than checking out books. Austin's library has boardgames available (I see people playing them there), and a lot of music and movie media.
  - joegahona 7y ago
    I think the insane price of ebooks is to blame for this. I've recently purchased print books for this reason -- the ebook was actually more expensive.
qihqi 7y ago
Real movie junkies probably also go to library to borrow bluerays.

VLM 7y ago

Can google for "statista Number of movie tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada from 1980 to 2018" and you'll find a graph showing movie ticket sales smoothly grew and peaked around the turn of the century and have declined about 20% since the turn of the century. Revenue is an entirely different graph, where revenue increased in an exponential curve in the 90s, but around the turn of the century has gone to a very slow linear increase, also about 20% since the turn of the century. Note that US population went up about 15%, I would assume entirely due to immigration, from 282M to 327M. Annual average CPI from bls.gov shows 172 in 2000 and 255 in 2019, so figure somewhat above 33% inflation since 2000. So, since the turn of the century, sale quantities are falling about 40% behind population based estimates, whereas revenue is increasing slightly faster than population but vastly slower than inflation. It would seem casuals and the general public are no longer going to the movies, its the kind of thing you see in extracting maximum revenue from superfans type of thing. Trying and failing to keep up with inflation by appealing more so to an ever shrinking audience of the most motivated fans. This would fit in with anecdotal "common sense" reports of the product being very formulaic and ever more narrowly targeted. In the end, markets with shrinking mindshare and shrinking revenue relative to inflation, are usually doomed. Either things will get shaken up and all the trend lines will change or the entrenched legacy players will eventually financialize themselves out of business sooner or later.

hrktb 7y ago

The usefulness of the number depends on your perspective (some would say agenda) If you want to build a library and some official tells you the place would be better used for a movie theater, you have a reference number to argue. Some people are positing with a straight face that libraries are a thing of the past and the ROI is low now that we have amazon. Explaining libraries are useful is actually not trivial, especially as they don’t directly make money. Slightly off topic, but equating library with “reading” is not in line with today’s libraries, which represent a lot more than a place to borrow old books.