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Books still top for teens

12 September 2008

Book borrowing is the main reason for public library visits by young people according to a survey commissioned by the Scottish Government.

Scotland’s Schools Omnibus, an annual survey of secondary school pupils carried out by Ipsos MORI, found that 67% of young people visited their local library to borrow, return or renew books.  This is significantly higher than the numbers using computers and the Internet (37%) or borrowing multimedia materials (10%).

A substantial number (16%) of the 11-15 year-olds surveyed also selected browsing or reading as the motivation for their library visits.

Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) Director, Elaine Fulton, said: “These findings reaffirm the value of public libraries in supporting reading for pleasure and nurturing the reading habit in Scotland’s young people.

The significant role libraries play in young people’s lives has been recognised by the Scottish Government through its financial support of innovative projects, such as Edinburgh’s Libraries4U scheme.”

Libraries4U received Public Library Quality Improvement Fund (PLQIF) support in order to revamp three city libraries, installing newly stocked Teenage Zones that were designed in consultation with young library users.

The initiative was launched at Craigmillar, Kirkliston and Moredun, offering young people the opportunity to actively engage with the libraries through a diverse programme of events and activities.

Angela Leitch, Head of Performance and Community Engagement at Edinburgh City Libraries said: “The success of Libraries4U has been demonstrated by increased teenage borrowing as a result of improved stock chosen for and by young people. Additionally the number of young people participating in library events and activities has doubled, with over 1,500 engaging with the project.

Our experience supports the findings of the Government’s survey and highlights the importance of books and reading to young people.”

The Scottish Government has published full details of the survey in their online report Children’s Participation in Culture and Sport.

Contact: Elaine Fulton, Director t: 01698 458888 e: e.fulton@slainte.org.uk

Notes

(1)Scotland’s Schools Omnibus

The survey is designed to complement findings on adult participation in culture and sport from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS).  The Scottish Government commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct research among young people in Scotland using Ipsos MORI Scotland’s Schools Omnibus, an annual survey of secondary school pupils.

(2)Children’s Participation in Culture and Sport

The findings of Scotland’s Schools Omnibus have been used to form the Scottish Government report Children’s Participation in Culture and Sport, which was published on 09/09/2008. Full report available: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/08/12161748/0. Cultural section available: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/08/12161748/3.

(3) Public Libraries Quality Improvement Fund (PLQIF)

The PLQIF was launched by the Scottish Executive in 2006/07 to support the Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix (PLQIM), a quality assurance and performance monitoring framework for public libraries.  PLQIM was developed by SLIC in collaboration with the Scottish Executive.  PLQIF financial support is awarded by SLIC on an annual basis to assist public library services in the implementation of PLQIM.

(4) Libraries4U

More information at: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/leisure/libraries/explore_your_library/teenagers/cec_libraries4u.

About SLIC

The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) is the independent advisory body to the Scottish Government on library and information matters.  SLIC was established in 1991 and is funded by organisational membership subscriptions. The Scottish Government partially funds the Council in its work and the National Library of Scotland also contributes financial assistance.  SLIC members include all local authority, higher education and further education institutions, NHS Trust library services and other specialist library and information organisations.