Library use in Lincolnshire is on the rise, the authority that oversees the service says.
Lincolnshire County Council say there were a million users of its libraries in the 2023/24 financial year, a 16 per cent increase on last year when they saw a 17 per cent increase in the number of items loaned.
It also said a further 87,000 people attended events at the libraries.
However the figure of 1,033,032 using the service was below its target of attracting 1,767,746.
A spokesman for the county council said that while books remain the biggest item lent, digital magazines, newspapers and e-audiobooks were increasingly popular.
A new ‘Lincolnshire Libraries’ phone and tablet launched in April 2023 has been accessed 200,000 times by 5,000 library members, the council say.
Coun Lindsey Cawrey, executive member for culture at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “It is so fantastic to see the popularity of Lincolnshire Libraries, and the amazing positive feedback that we get from our library users.
“Since the pandemic we’ve noticed a change in the way people use our libraries.
“Whilst the number of visits is growing again, there’s a trend of visiting the library less often than before the pandemic, but taking out more items on each visit.
“Across the county, you can see that our libraries mean so much to their communities with the different events, activities and groups they play host to.
“We work with local library users and communities to develop the events that they want, so each programme of events is entirely unique.
“With community events being a huge draw to our libraries, the programmes at each site are developing all the time.
“Our libraries also support studying and small businesses seen through a growth in wi-fi usage across our libraries, and the popularity of ‘business bubbles’ at some of our sites.”
Lincolnshire Libraries is operated by Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) on behalf of the county council.
Its partnership manager Nicola Rogers, said: “Our libraries partnership with Lincolnshire County Council goes from strength to strength.
“Part of GLL’s remit as a charitable social enterprise is to deepen and broaden wellbeing locally. So I am delighted to see these figures confirm Lincolnshire Libraries remain at the heart of local communities.”
