Article in the Daily Telegraph 5 Jan 2006
By Sarah Womack Social Affairs Correspondent


Internet puts library visits up by 22million

PUBLIC libraries are becoming increasingly popular but people are taking out fewer books and using libraries more for their internet facilities, a study has found.

A report by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy showed that library visits increased by 22million since 2001-02 to almost 340 million in 2004-05.

It said libraries had increased visitor numbers by offering the internet and other electronic facilities, and that despite a 3.1 per cent fall in books issued since 2003-04, more than 330million were borrowed in 2004-05.

More than 34 million people - 58 per cent of the population - have a library ticket.

Books by Jacqueline Wilson, the children's writer and creator of Tracy Beaker, were borrowed more than two million times from public libraries, making her the nation's most borrowed author.


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