Non building loans account for more than a quarter of a million loans by Brent library service. The actual break down of those loans is the second chart (below).
It is noticeable that ebooks still only account for a small proportion of the total number of loans (about 1.1% of all Brent book loans), so the ebook revolution has a long time to wait. The fact that such a high proportion of book loans happen outside the actual buildings strengthens my argument that library authorities should concentrate on services rather than buildings.
UPDATE
Again, the comment below seems to come from a mindset of entrenched hostility. Certainly, one can point to a link between online renewals and loans from physical libraries. My point is that if you ignore the non-building loans, you are ignoring a major element of book loans in Brent.
Remember the main alternative option for Brent Libraries (supported by many "library campaigners" at the time) was simply to cut opening hours, which is an option generally known as "hollowing out". I don't think, had we gone for that option, we would now see our numbers going up.
UPDATE
Again, the comment below seems to come from a mindset of entrenched hostility. Certainly, one can point to a link between online renewals and loans from physical libraries. My point is that if you ignore the non-building loans, you are ignoring a major element of book loans in Brent.
Remember the main alternative option for Brent Libraries (supported by many "library campaigners" at the time) was simply to cut opening hours, which is an option generally known as "hollowing out". I don't think, had we gone for that option, we would now see our numbers going up.
2 comments:
Another questionable assertion. To achieve an online renewal or a phone renewal you need a building with physical stock to make the loan in the first place. Outreach and home library services have been going for decades so surely they are neutral in relation to any current [rather crass] debate on services vs buildings.
E-book lending is low at present but growing fast from a low base. Most popular books are not available to be lent by public libraries anyway due to publishing restrictions. Don't close the libraries yet. Oh dear!... You have.
As a professional librarian and manager I admire what Brent has achieved within the limited funding available. I tend to be rather critical of most Councillors knowledge and lack of creativity regarding libraries. I wish that many other authorities were half as brave and forward looking as Brent or as well-informed as Councillor Powney.
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