OVER HALF OF people – 51 per cent – in Ireland have used a public library in the last year according to a survey carried out by the organisation Carnegie UK Trust.

The report is the first survey of public attitudes to libraries across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The overall findings show that Northern Ireland recorded the lowest level of use of public libraries  in the UK and Ireland with just 40 per cent of those surveyed using them in the past year.

Scotland has the highest usage – 61 per cent. People in England and Wales were also surveyed by the polling organisation Ipsos MORI on behalf of Carnegie.

Overall, 79 per cent of the 1,000 adults in Ireland aged 15 or over that were surveyed said that libraries were ‘very important’ or ‘essential’ for communities, the highest figure from the five jurisdictions.

Almost half – 46 per cent – said that public libraries were very important or essential to them personally.

While more than two thirds of those who didn’t use libraries – 69 per cent – thought that public libraries were essential or very important to their community, compared to 89 per cent of users.

Reading behaviour in Ireland:

More women than men use libraries in Ireland – 56 per cent to 45 per cent. Library use by those aged 15 to 24 is higher than the average for all ages – 54 per cent to 51 per cent and among the highest in all five jurisdictions.

Use among those in the 25 to 34 age bracket was lower – 48 per cent, but still higher than might have been expected from earlier findings which indicated that libraries did not appeal to young people, the survey said.

The survey found that there was a ‘strong and statistically significant’ relationship in Ireland between library use and factors such as having children, being a prolific reader, living in an urban area and not working full time.

Those working part-time, not working at all or retired were more likely to use library than those working full time. Retired people were above average – 53 per cent – users.

The survey also found that there was a statistically significant relationship between being a prolific reader and using a public library.

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