INDICATORS SHOW PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICES ARE ON THE UP

The annual Service Indicators in Local Authorities for 2006 has just been published by the Local Government Management Services Board (LGSMB). The 60 indicators across 42 headings were first published in 2004.The 4 indicators which are applied to the public library service are:

• Opening hours: the average opening hours per week for full-time libraries appears to have fallen slightly, from an average of 38.7 to 38 between 2004 and 2006 although this is, at least partially, due to a change in definition. Average weekly opening hours for part-time libraries rose slightly from 15 to 16.7 over the same period;
  
• Registered members: according to the data collated by the LGMSB, the number of registered members of public libraries has risen as a proportion of the local resident population from an average of 17.3% in 2004 to 21% in 2006;

• Items issued: the number of books issued per head of population rose slightly from 3.1 to 3.4. Other issues remain constant at 0.2 items per head;
  
• Availability and use of public Internet access points in libraries: overall this has not changed significantly since 2004 as continued investment in library services means that the vast majority of libraries now provide internet access for public use; usage, however shows a significant increase. Based on figures supplied, the libraries facilitated over 1.7 million internet sessions in 2006, an increase of over 18% on similar figures for 2004.

Service indicators in local authorities 2006: report to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government by the Local Government Management Services Board. – Dublin: LGMSB, 2007.

The report can be downloaded from:
http://www.lgmsb.ie/upload/documents/Service%20Indicators%20in%20Local%20Authorities%202006.pdf