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If you walk into almost any public library in New Brunswick, you’ll see a familiar scene: families reading to their children, students settling in to study, and neighbours of all ages drifting through the stacks in search of their next read. These everyday moments hint at the role libraries play in people’s lives, but much of their impact unfolds quietly, in ways that aren’t visible through library records alone. That’s where linked administrative data offers something new.

In Valuing Public Libraries: New possibilities using linked administrative data, researchers at DataNB look beyond borrowing records to understand how public libraries fit into the learning and community experiences of New Brunswickers. By connecting library checkout data with population-level data on demographics, education, early childhood development, and immigration, the study follows the threads of library engagement into other parts of people’s lives.

As the linked data are brought together, clear patterns begin to emerge. Families with children and recent immigrant households appear consistently as some of the most active borrowers – and active borrowers appear to experience positive outcomes. Compared to non-borrowing households, children in library using households tend to show stronger early developmental indicators, earn slightly higher school marks, and are more likely to graduate on time. University students from these households are also more likely to continue past their first year. For immigrants, borrowing materials is associated with a higher likelihood of remaining in the province over time.

Library access shapes library use, as well. Households living closer to a library are more likely to borrow materials, and even temporary service disruptions can dissuade patrons from visiting. We see this during the temporary closure of the Kennebecasis library branch in 2022, when many regular patrons simply stopped borrowing library materials altogether – rather than travelling to other nearby branches. These shifts offer a glimpse into how convenience and proximity influence engagement.

While the study cannot determine cause and effect, the consistency of the associations paints a clearer picture of how public libraries support learning, development, and community life across New Brunswick. Behind every borrowed book is a small piece of a much larger story – one that continues to unfold across the province.