Current Library Trends
According to an article in the Guardian online dated 27th
September 2013, a survey carried out by The Department for Culture, Media and
Sports (DCMS) has found that library visits are down once again due to closures
of so many libraries. It reveals that 63.8% of people did not use a public
library in 2012-13. The number of people visiting a library at least once a
year has dropped by 25% since records began in 2005-6. However, in the past
year, 16.1% of adults used a library website which is up from 8.9% in 2005-6.
The general opinion is that people change and they want the
services to change. Therefore, libraries need to evolve and offer the relevant
services to halt the decline.
Although we tend to think of the library as traditionally a
place to go to when we want to borrow fiction books, it has evolved to be a
place where you can do research, use the computers, borrow DVDs and CDs plus it
provides a real social networking that allows individuals to find out what is
happening in their local communities.
According to research, there has been a rise in the loan of
new media such as films, games and music, although this will vary with the
demographics.
Another
factor may be that more people have access to various forms of media in their
own homes. People can use the internet on their laptops, PCs and even smart
phones to research things. E-readers have become very popular recently and just
by a click of a button you can have any one of a choice of thousands of books
sent to your E-reader in seconds.
Libraries
are a very important local public service which provides so much more for the
community than just the loan of books. There are lots of campaigns on the go to
halt the closures and to educate local authorities of the importance to the local
community.
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