From the Centre College Alumni Survey.
I asked "About how many books are there in your house right now?"
5% Under 50
21% 50 - 200
35% 201 - 500
22% 501 - 1,000
10% 1,001 - 2,000
7% More than 2,000
It is hard to find a national average number of books per household. A health survey in New York among a cross-section of households - people who had a baby in the local hospital in a certain time period - found the top of the range of average number of books per household was 25.
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4 comments:
I have been reducing the number of books in my house lately. Why? Partly it was an effort at cost reduction, it had just gotten too easy to hit the order button on Amazon.com, and the $25+ orders add up. It was also also due to space limitations...books take up a lot of space. Finally, I like to support and use the local library. I want to set a good example for my kids -- I've told them since they were little that the public library was one of the great inventions of all time. It allowed the "common man" to have access to knowledge -- the ultimate equalizer -- you are only limited by your own initiative. I want to support that. Now that our local library shares resources with many other library systems, including universities, almost any book you want is avaiable.
Now if I could just learn to be a little more patient waiting for some of those books! I do break down and buy some still because there is such a waitlist for them.
This question may also be running up against changing social customs. Kindle may cut down on the number of books in a house dramatically, while increasing the number of books read.
Was a question included distinguishing "kid" books from "adult" books? (No sniggering in the back! Although...I suppose I should have just written "grown-up" there...anyway...)
Baby board books can add up quick, and there are loads of adolescent books -- in which I include H. Potter and Twilight -- which also drive up the numbers.
I did not distinguish kid books. Either way, only a small minority of households have many books no matter how you count them.
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