Be the first to comment!Nadur residents still at the top when it comes to borrowing library books
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Malta Libraries data released today indicates that in branch public libraries across Gozo there was a decrease in the number of book loans last year at 102,742, in 2018 the figure stood at 105,614, the National Statistics Office said today.
Residents of Nadur continue to be avid readers, although they borrowed fewer books last year, Nadur Library had the highest number of book loans in Gozo during 2019, with a figure of 46,539, which was down on the previous year when it stood at 49,322.
The Gozo Central Public Library in Victoria once again saw a decrease in the number of loans for last year at 25,469, this was down from 29,610, in 2018.
On a national basis, the administrative data provided by Malta Libraries revealed that, last year, total book loans stood at 1,045,869, an increase of 23,523 or 2.3% over the preceding year. Out of this sum, 14,001 or 1.3% of book loans were in the form of eBooks.
Book acquisitions last year by public libraries amounted to 47,754, up by 31.3% when compared to the preceding year. Book donations to and purchases by public libraries increased by 39.7 and 17.4% respectively.The NSO noted that however, the acquisition of eBooks decreased by 2.4%when compared to 2018.
New members of public libraries, in 2019, stood at 6,071, down by 3.1% when compared to new members for the previous year. Persons under the age of 18 made up 65.4% of public libraries’ new members.
In 2019, the number of books and periodicals received by the National Library of Malta under legal deposit reached 1,579, a decrease of 9.3% when compared to 2018. The share of periodicals accounted for 52.5% of these deposits.
The NSO said that both imports and exports of printed book material and periodicals during 2019 declined when compared to the preceding year and stood at €10.9 and €3.9 million respectively. In 2019, the value of imports declined by 11.9%, while exports fell by 16.8%.
On the other hand, the share of money spent on printed material in the total private final consumption expenditure remained stable, when compared to the previous year, the NSO said.
