Charlbury Library Outstanding Results
Charlbury is showing the highest increase in issues as a percentage of any library in Oxfordshire according to Oxfordshire Library Services. It is convincingly bucking the national trend of a general decline in usage of libraries.
Graham White, Community Involvement Officer for Oxfordshire Libraries, said of these statistics: “Oxfordshire Library Service would like to thank the Charlbury community, Thomas Gifford Trust, the manager Julie Ward, and the volunteers for making such a success of the new library. We normally expect a new or refurbished library to see an increase in use, but the huge success of Charlbury Library since the move to the Community Centre is a real testament to the hard work of all involved, and to the concept of co-locating the library with other local services.”
Charlbury Library’s statistics tell a positive tale. Since moving to Charlbury’s new Community Centre, library issues using the self-service machine have increased by 65%. Much of this is out of hours use, as the library is now accessible for seven days a week. In its first year of operation, 2219 items were issued on Sundays alone and more people are joining the library - new membership applications are up by 44%.
Lending and borrowing statistics are, of course, not the only way to judge the effectiveness of a library. Libraries serve many other functions – a place to study, research, look at maps, journals, local history and reference book and a place to meet. Visitors to the Centre can also make use of the library’s free Wi-Fi service and use the computer and photocopier, making the Centre and library an ideal place to study and work.
daniela jenkins · Tue 4 Jun 2019, 16:10 · Link