12 May 2010
Children’s fiction has been the main area of growth in library lending, according to the annual CIPFA libraries survey.
Borrowing in this category rose by 6.1% in 2008/09, making it far more popular than children’s non-fiction, for which lending increased by just 0.7%.
The opposite pattern applied for adults, who borrowed 0.1% less fiction and 1.8% less non-fiction.
CIPFA operations director Julian Mund said: ‘It’s very encouraging to see that books are continuing to play an important part in our children’s education.’
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council chief executive Roy Clare said the survey highlighted ‘how much more work is to be done to maintain and modernise the country’s changing library service’.
He added: ‘Local government is facing very tough budget choices, but many councils are developing their library services in modern ways.’
CIPFA found the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library was the most used, with 1.5 million visits last year.
