• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

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Library borrowers break all digital download records

Virtual visits to North Yorkshire County Council’s library service broke all previous records in January as readers in the county embraced e-books and digital audio.

The number of e-books issued in January was 6,338, up from 5,469 in the previous month, which had also been a record. Digital audio downloads also achieved a new monthly record of 1,198.

Across all digital formats and platforms, average daily borrowing rose to a new high of 266, compared to a daily average of 198 in January 2016.

Customers rose alongside loans, with the number of new customers registering for downloads reaching a record for a single month at 270.

County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, Executive Member for Library and Information Services, said: “We are seeing a steady growth in the number of virtual library visits. While we can’t be sure of the reason for this new peak in January, it’s likely that people who received new e-book readers and tablets for Christmas are taking advantage of our services.

“We have responded to this changing behaviour by developing our digital reading service, allowing readers to take advantage of digital borrowing at any time of the day or night. We continue to build our stock and now have around 10,600 e-book titles and more than 4,000 digital audio titles, with more on order.”

More information about all library services, including the e-book and digital audio catalogues, can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/libraries.