According to data issued by the National Statistics Office, when compared to the preceding year, public libraries in Gozo registered the largest increases in book loans during 2021, at the rate of 22.6%.
In Gozo, the public libraries at Victoria and Nadur last year continued with their perennial contest for the top spot, with the Victoria public library reaching 77.4% of the book loans it had in the year before the pandemic (i.e. 2019) and the Nadur public library reaching 68.2%of the same yardstick.
Branch libraries in Gozo gave out 69,513 book loans during 2021 against 102,742 in 2019.The Gozo Central Public Library loaned out 19,718 books last year, against 25,469 in 2019.
The total book loans by year and locality in Gozo are shown below: