New figures reveal residents visited libraries a million times last year and took out over two million items.
This represents a 16 per cent rise in visits and a 17 per cent rise in issues compared to the year before. On top of these regular visits, 87,000 people enjoyed activities and events put on at our libraries, including story time sessions, craft and coding clubs, family history and reading groups.
Lincolnshire’s love of their library service is also shown in customer feedback taken throughout the year. Library users rated both the staff and customer experience 4.9 out of a possible 5 stars, and 80% said that ‘access to a wide range of books and other resources’ was the best thing about their library service.
Although the majority of library loans are physical books, more and more library users are discovering the great digital items that the library service offers. Digital magazines, newspaper and e-audiobooks have proven particularly popular as people realise they can access a wealth of fantastic content for free through their library service, rather than paid-for subscriptions.
In April 2023, the Lincolnshire Libraries app was launched for smartphones. It allows library users to manage their accounts, reserve and renew their loans, and check stock. The app can even act as their library card, meaning they don’t need to remember their physical card on every visit.
In its first full year since launching, the app had been used over 200,000 times by 5,000 library members.
Cllr Lindsey Cawrey, executive member for culture at Lincolnshire County Council, said:
“It is so fantastic to see the popularity of Lincolnshire Libraries, and the amazing positive feedback that we get from our library users.
“Since the pandemic we’ve noticed a change in the way people use our libraries. Whilst the number of visits is growing again, there’s a trend of visiting the library less often than before the pandemic, but – as the number of issues has remained high – taking out more items on each visit.
“Across the county, you can see that our libraries mean so much to their communities with the different events, activities and groups they play host to. We work with local library users and communities to develop the events that they want, so each programme of events is entirely unique.
“With community events being a huge draw to our libraries, the programmes at each site are developing all the time. At Lincoln Central Library, for example, following sustainability events during National Libraries Week, the site has continued offering monthly clothing swaps where people can donate pre-loved clothes and in return get a token they can swap for another item of clothing.
“Our libraries also support studying and small businesses seen through a growth in wi-fi usage across our libraries, and the popularity of ‘business bubbles’ at some of our sites.”
Lincolnshire Libraries is operated by Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.
We have 15 core libraries; Boston, Bourne, Gainsborough, Grantham, Horncastle, Lincoln, Long Sutton, Louth, Mablethorpe, Market Rasen, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding, Stamford and Woodhall Spa. We also have seven mobile libraries and offer home library services to eligible users.
Nicola Rogers, GLL Libraries Partnership Manager for Lincolnshire said:
“Our Libraries partnership with Lincolnshire County Council goes from strength to strength.
“Part of GLL’s remit as a charitable social enterprise is to deepen and broaden wellbeing locally. So I am delighted to see these figures confirm Lincolnshire Libraries remain at the heart of local communities.
“Whether it’s our Summer Reading Challenge, using our computers or WiFi for business or study, attending events or finding something fabulous to read – we truly have something for everyone.”
There are also 34 community hub libraries, operated by community groups, supported by GLL and Lincolnshire County Council. Community hub libraries give local people more control and a bigger say in how their local libraries are run, their opening hours, and the activities they run.
The performance of the library service will be discussed by councillors at the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 30 July 2024.
Discover how much more your local library has to offer; visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/libraries.