Brent Library Figures Up Again

Brent Libraries figures are up again in the year ending 31 March 2014.  This follows our successfully bucking the trend last year.  The full figures for visits since deciding to go ahead with the Libraries Transformation Project in April 2011 are:

2011/12       1,506,852
2012/13       1,526,095        1.2%
2013/14       1,654,807        8.4%

The same period for loans shows:

2011/12           985,590
2012/13           963,188       -2.3%
2013/14           996,890        3.5%

Compared to the 2011/12 baseline, visits have gone up by 9.8%, and loans have gone up by 1.1%.  I recall telling Public Libraries News that:

“Brent Libraries will have more book loans and library visits in 2014/15 than we had in 2011″

We seem to have got there a year ahead of schedule.

UPDATE

A commentator has put a link in to the CIPFA library comparison report.  Unfortunately, CIPFA take a long time to collate their data.  That CIPFA report relates to 2012/13, so it is more than a year out of date.  The next CIFPA report will probably come in September.  People might also want to look at the Public Library User Survey, which gives the opinions of Brent Library Users. UPDATE 15/12/14:  CIPFA have now released on the CIPFA comparisons for 2013/14 so it is possible to comment on them as requested in the comment below.  As expected, nationally the figures show a downward slide whilst Brent figures continue to improve.

ANOTHER UPDATE

Another comment posted below.  I get the impression that some people simply can't accept that Brent libraries are a success, whatever the evidence.  They are.  Across England and Wales most libraries are seeing declining loans and visits. Ours are going up.  Brent libraries upward trajectory is all the more remarkable given that the Willesden service is currently an interim one.  The big rise in Brent library usage is achieved by a lot of hard working library staff following a good strategy.  Why not just acknowledge that?