Public Libraries Are Better Than Congress, Baseball, and Apple Pie, Say Americans

According to the Atlantic Magazine:

A new Pew study finds that not only do Americans adore libraries, but a majority of us think they’re adjusting to new technology just fine.

Some 94 percent of Americans say that having a public library improves a community and that the local library is a “welcoming, friendly place.” 91 percent said they had never had “a negative experience using a public library, either in person or online.”

These sound like incredible approval ratings for any U.S. public institution. So I wondered: Just how incredible are they? How do other icons of Americana compare?