More people visit Swindon's libraries (From Swindon Advertiser)

More people visit Swindon's libraries

10:00am Wednesday 25th August 2010 in

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THE NUMBER of people using Swindon’s libraries is on the up, despite a national trend over the last five years for the number of people using libraries to fall.

Swindon’s libraries had 1.13m visits in 2009/10 compared with 1.09m in 2006/07.

There were also 1.26m items loaned out in 2009/10 compared with 1.09m in 2006/07.

National figures released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports found that only 12.8 per cent of adults visit their local library once a month, compared with 16.4 per cent in 2005.

More than 60 per cent of people have not stepped foot inside a library in the last year.

Coun Fionuala Foley, Swindon’s cabinet member for libraries, said: “I think the success of the libraries in Swindon is down to the service we provide.

“We are open on Sundays, are more accessible, have longer opening hours, good IT provision and larger libraries.

“Our new Central Library has a fantastic history and research section, which is great for researching family history.

“But I want to see more people going to the library, we mustn’t be complacent.

“We should be looking at how we can make libraries more inviting.”

The Adver revealed yesterday that Swindon council was inviting management consultants to bid for a £50k contract to review its whole libraries, museums, culture and parks services.

Coun Foley said: “It’s about how we deliver all the leisure, libraries, culture and parks services and it could be, maybe, that we look at a trust option.

“The consultants will be employed to look at what’s the best way forward.

“Should the local authority still be doing it?”

Coun Foley said other councils in the UK had handed libraries over to the community to run as trusts, but added that no final decision had been made in Swindon.