More members and visitors at Gelderland Zuid Library

Thu Apr 25, 09:00

General

NIJMEGEN – The 2023 annual report of Gelderland Zuid Library almost exclusively shows increasing annual figures. The total number of members increased by 5.1% compared to 2022 and the number of participants in activities in the libraries even increased by 13.3%. More people also visited the library: in 2023, the Gelderland Library received more than one million visitors, an increase of 10.9%.

Not only did the number of members, visitors and participants in activities increase, the library also reached more students through the Libraries at school. A total of 15,680 students in the working area of ​​the Gelderland South Library had access to their own library at school, an increase of 8.6%.

“More and more schools, including secondary and vocational education, see the importance of intensive collaboration with the library to encourage their students to read more. This has everything to do with the declining reading skills of Dutch students. But although the total number of loans remained virtually the same, the number of loans among youth under the age of 18 in Gelderland South increased by 1%.”

More than just lending books

Nowadays the library is much more than a building where you can just borrow books. The Digital Government Information Point in the libraries is well visited, a total of 1,400 questions about digital government have been answered here. The library’s 20 Language Cafés received more than 7,500 visitors with more than 60 different nationalities in 2023. They practiced speaking Dutch in small groups. More than 3,000 parents and children listened to readers in the library, who read the most beautiful picture books.

Director Bert Hogemans: “Our annual report shows that the library is a place where everyone can find something to their liking. Whether that is a nice story, new knowledge and information, a nice cup of coffee or a quiet workplace. When I look at our annual report, I can only be very proud!”