CIPFA have published their latest report on Brent libraries. You can follow the link here. "Latest" is something of a misnomer, as they always publish their reports a year out of date. If you want the most recent figures you can find them here.
If you haven't seen them before, each report analyses a group of Boroughs that CIPFA regard as compatible. In the case of Brent that is a series of outer London Boroughs.
Brent is now in the top quartile for physical visits, and in the middle in terms of book issues. I was surprised to find that book stock is towards the lower end of the group, although the books are borrowed more frequently than average. I don't know how they reconcile Brent's access to the rest of the London Lending Consortium book stock. Perhaps the most worrying factor is the low proportion of active borrowers relative to population
Thursday, 14 April 2016
Monday, 11 April 2016
Success of the New Library at Willesden Green
The visit and loan figures for Willesden Library since its opening on 27 July confirm its success. Here is a graph showing visits since July 2015, with the previous year shown for comparison.
Here is the corresponding graph for loans:
Willesden Library Visit Figures
Here is the corresponding graph for loans:
Willesden Library Visit Figures
Last
Year This
Year % Change
July
20,347 21,143 3.9%
August
19,293 31,003 60.7%
September
19,698 38,496 95.4%
October
20,254 39,492 95.0%
November
17,692 35,776 102.2%
December
15,215 27,229 79.0%
January
16,540 34,666 109.6%
February
17,416 38,940 123.6%
March
18,325 38,705 111.2%
Willesden Library Loan Figures
Last Year This
Year % Change
July 9,066 10,972 21.0%
August 8,158 17,181 110.6%
September 8,651 18,219 110.6%
October 8,499 17,260 103.1%
November 7,615 17,722 132.7%
December 7,056 15,999 126.7%
January 8,088 19,023 135.2%
February 8,270 17,075 106.5%
March 8,413 18,290 117.4%
Sunday, 10 April 2016
Harlesden Town Centre Developments
I am glad to see that the area around the Royal Oak on Harlesden High Street is finally coming together. Not only is the Royal Oak itself refurbished; the new Park restaurant has now opened opposite the Salvation Army and the former Willesden Social Club is finally redeveloped.
The businesses should all be helped by the transformation in the public realm following the redevelopment of Station Approach, Station Road and the Town Centre redevelopment scheme.
The businesses should all be helped by the transformation in the public realm following the redevelopment of Station Approach, Station Road and the Town Centre redevelopment scheme.