Article2004

The decline in adult book lending in UK public libraries and its possible causes

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Library Science and Administration Library Science and Information Literacy Library Collection Development and Digital Resources

Abstract

Annual book issues from UK public libraries have been decreasing since 1980, due mainly to decreases in issues of adult fiction and, to a lesser extent, adult non‐fiction. This paper describes an analysis of trends from 1980 to 1998 in annual book issues and selected factors that may have caused their decrease. Simple linear regressions were used to test predictors of issues over this period. The factors studied were: decreased funding of public libraries and library book stocks; reductions in opening hours and numbers of public libraries; increased personal affluence and leisure opportunities; and increased book purchases by readers. Significant regression relationships were found between annual book issues and all the factors studied. However, book issues showed the closest relationship to personal spending power, as measured by real households' disposable income, which explained over 96 per cent of the variation in issues. This compared with 92 per cent of the variation in issues being explained by the number of libraries open 45 hours per week, 80 per cent by real consumer spending on books and just 60 per cent by real book spend in public libraries.

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References

1995Leisure and the rise of the public library 2000Embracing inclusion: the critical role of the library 1995Review of the public library service in England and Wales for the Department of National Heritage : summary and schedule of recommendations 2001Socio‐economic features of UK public library users 2000Perspectives of Public Library Use 2: A Compendium of Survey Information 2001Value of book borrowing from public libraries

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2011The impact of opening hours on the equity of individual space–time accessibility 2004The decline in adult book lending in UK public libraries and its possible causes 2006The decline in book borrowing from Britain's public libraries: a small scale Scottish study 2008Monumental Library Buildings in the Internet Era: the future of public libraries 2018Investigating the public response to local government decisions to reduce or remove public library services 2011I wouldn’t start from here … provision and use of UK libraries 2010Serving Llibrary users from low-income communities: Promoting digital literacy to eSociety

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