Survey of library usage in Northern Ireland

DCAL has just released a new report on 'Experience of Library Usage in Northern Ireland' based on the Continuous Houshold Survey 2009-2010.  The questions were selected by DCAL's Research and Statistics Branch and covered a number of topics.  The key findings were:

• 29% of respondents stated that they visit a public library at least once a year.  18% said once a month and 5% said at least once a week.
• A singificantly higher proportion of female respondents than male respondents visited a library in the 12 months prior to the survey (34% and 21% respectively).
• Respondents aged 25-34 and 35-44 were most likely to visit a library at least once a year (34% and 35% respectively).
• There was an increase in the proportion of respondents visiting a library at least once a year in 2009/10 compared with 2008/09 - 29% and 26% respectively - this was statistically significant.
• The top three reasons given for visiting a library were 'to borrow/return/renew books', 'To look up information' and 'To accompany children' cited by 79%, 15% and 15% (respectively) of respondents who had been to a library in the previous year.
• 92% of respondents who had visited a library in the previous year were satisfied with their visit.
• The three most frequently cited reasons for not visiting a library were 'Not really interested', 'Buy or get bought all the books I need' and 'No need to go' reported by 28%, 25% and 19% (respectively) of respondents who had not been to a library in the previous year.
• 61% of respondents reported that they were satisfied with library provision in Northern Ireland, a significant increase on the 53% in 2008/09.
• 89% of respondents who had visited a library during the previous year were satisfied with library provision, a similar proportion to the 88% in 2008/09.