Change in Brent Libraries

One of the frustrating things about explaining Brent Libraries Strategy is that many people think that the library service basically stays the same.  It is a bit like education in that people hark back to the way libraries were when they were children, and treat that as an ideal from which they must never deviate.

In fact, even in the three years since, we embarked on the Libraries Transformation Project, Brent libraries have changed out of recognition.  I have already blogged on the overall rise in numbers, the growth of the home library service and the outreach service.  One could also mention changing IT use in either its technological or social aspects.

One way of seeing how dramatic the changes can be is to look at the changes in visits to each library.  Here are the 2011/2012 figures:

You can see that Willesden is by far the biggest, with almost three times as many visits as "Wembley" (which is of course the old Brent Town Hall Library, not the new Wembley Library in Brent Civic Centre).  Many people are also surprised that the six libraries that we closed only accounted for 12.6% of the total visits.

The next year, overall visits went up slightly, and the split looked like this:

 

Kilburn Library is noticeably bigger following its refurbishment, and all six libraries have grown somewhat.  Again, Willesden is by far the biggest.   The following year, the picture changes dramatically:

Willesden has shrunk dramatically as the rebuild started.  Even so, even the interim service manages to be Brent's second biggest library.  However, the new Wembley Library has seen usage explode. 

This gives some idea of how artificial it is to pick one particular year.  The situation is changing so rapidly that the 2012/2013 data is dramatically out of date.  During 2014/2015, I expect the numbers to go up again as the full year effect of the new Wembley Library feeds in.  The year after that, 2015/2016, should see yet more growth as the new Willesden Library Centre will then be open.

I find all this much more inspiring than the gentle decline that we had before. 

UPDATE

The absolute figures are here.

ANOTHER UPDATE

A comment asks for library by library issues for each library for 2013/14.  Visits by each library are the percentages for that year given above. The total figure as given here is 1,654,807.  There is obviously a similar break down for 2013/14 for issues, with the total figure being 996,890, but the whole argument I am making is  that selecting one particular year is artificial.  Wembley is virtually certain to go up this year.  Willesden will go up once it reopens in 2015.  Year by year figures tell you little.  It is also the case that many Brent library loans occur outside the buildings altogether.