Has the tide turned for libraries?

You may have read reports that the tide had turned for libraries. These reports were based on a June 1st 2004 dated press release from the Museums, Libraries, Archives and Libraries Council (MLA) - http://www.mla.gov.uk/news/press_article.asp?articleid=702 - which pointed to a 5 million increase in library visitors.

What the release didn't tell you was that this 5 million represents an increase of just over 1% over the previous year. Another thing the MLA didn't say was that these visitors were not borrowing books.

You can download Libri's analysis of these data in this press release The death of the library book? You can also download a spreadsheet which gives details of the best and worst performing library authorities.

This year on May 25th 2005, the MLA produced the same good news item - http://www.mla.gov.uk/news/press_article.asp?articleid=808 – with library visits “soaring”. This time it was a 4% increase in visits – and if this means visits are soaring, what word should we use to describe the near 6% fall in book issues. The majority of the increase in visits is due to free computer access via the People’s Network. Very little use is made of the network for lifelong learning, with the bulk of activity being email and internet.