Libraries book trend
Over 600,000 use council service
Stirling libraries have been ranked the best in Scotland and last year attracted their highest number of visitors in six years.
With the national trend for library use showing the number of library users plummeting, Stirling is bucking the trend with their figure on the rise.
Stirling Council’s community planning and regeneration committee heard on Thursday that in 2014-15 there were more than 600,000 visits to Stirling libraries, and while the average cost of a library visit was slightly higher than nationally, it was paying dividends.
Library visits in Stirling in 2014-15 were up at a time when there was a four per cent drop in visits to libraries in England and a corresponding 3.2 per cent drop in Scotland.
Performance team leader Andrew Pont said: “Figures published in January this year show that Stirling is the most successful library service in mainland Scotland and sixth in the entire UK at lending books.
“Stirling residents have access to the second largest collection of library books and borrow more of them than anywhere else in mainland Scotland.
“The library staff in our 16 branches and two mobile libraries deal with thousands of enquiries every year, ranging from in-depth research to family history and advice about accessing online services, making us the second busiest library service in mainland Scotland for public enquiries.
“Library book lending has fallen by 28 per cent in the last three years but Stirling is challenging that trend by responding to community demand and ensuring that the right books and materials are going to the right libraries. Stirling is also number one in Scotland in terms of user satisfaction.”
Last week the council launched an ‘Every Child a Library Member’ initiative – a national project which aims to encourage more children to read through using and enjoying their local library. To support the drive, the council’s registrars will enrol each baby registered at birth in the library service.
Council leader Johanna Boyd said using innovative ways to encourage library use was the way forward and suggested officers may also want to look into the Renfrewshire project which encourages library book lending via the local foodbank.
Director of Communities and Partnerships Stacey Burlett said: “Our libraries team in Stirling Council are fantastic.
“They show real initiative and a passion to be involved in their communities as well.”
She said the team had made a concerted effort to contact anyone who might be affected by one of the two mobile library vans being off the road for a few months until recently, making “great efforts” to combine the routes of both vans, offering shorter visits and emailing/phoning readers in advance to let them know of visits. As a result there had been no complaints.
The Smith Art Gallery and Museum also came in for praise, with Councillor Gerry McLaughlan describing it as a “little gem” and acting chair of the panel Councillor Martin Earl praising Smith director Dr Elspeth King for the “amount of work she puts in” as well as the support of Colin O’Brien, chair of the Smith trustees.