Public library membership in decline

The membership of public libraries is declining. In 2005, public library membership was down to 4 million, as against 4.3 million in 2001. The number of adult members declines and they also borrowed fewer books. Non-fiction literature became less popular among adults. The amount of books borrowed by children remained more or less the same.
In 2005, adults on average borrowed 33 books, children 27. Almost every library collection includes sheet music, CDs, DVDs and magazines, but books still make up 90 percent of library borrowings.
Merger and scaling-up processes reduced the number of public libraries from 508 in 2001 to 351 in 2005.

Membership public libraries