BURTON Library has bucked the national trend after seeing an increase in overall usage over the last five years.
Staffordshire County Council also said that there would be no threat of library closures in the area.
This is in stark contrast to a much grimmer picture nationally, where around only 60 per cent of people have stepped inside a library in the last 12 months. This compares to around 75 per cent in Burton.
Elizabeth Reece-Jones, service delivery manager for Staffordshire Libraries, said: “We have seen a drop in usage, but Burton Library has bucked the trend slightly with a 1.3 per cent increase over the last five years. Across Staffordshire we have seen a small 0.6 per cent drop in usage.
“In same way as other public services are under a spending review, we are as well.
“On top of this, people’s ways of life are changing.
“We have seen a much greater use of online services — people can now reserve and request books online, so this may account for why less people are going into libraries.
“There is such a range of services available at Burton Library, and that’s why we feel they’ve done so well.
“They have also introduced a new selfservice system which has freed up staff’s time to help people use the services they need.
“Libraries need to look into what local people really want from them, and they need to be more proactive.” In South Derbyshire, Swadlincote library’s loans (issues and renewals) increased by six per cent in 2009-10 compared with 2008-09.
At Etwall library the figure was seven per cent, with visits increasing by a similar amount. On top of this the mobile library service in South Derbyshire has issued nearly 100,000 books in the last year.
Gill Farrington, who represents Swadlincote and Woodville on Derbyshire County Council, said: “Libraries are a big part of the community.
“Everywhere is being threatened by cuts, with most of them being justified.
“Unfortunately it’s like most things, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
“However, I feel cuts to local libraries could not be justified, especially with David Cameron talking about ‘the Big Society’.
“Libraries are hubs in the local area, and losing them would take that away.” Figures in a Government report reveal that nationally, around 29 per cent of people use a library on a regular basis — which was significantly down from the 38 per cent figure which was recorded after similar research in 2006.
