06 Rising up to meet new challenges


When Covid hit, the world changed – and libraries were no exception.


There have been huge changes in what is considered a public library services over recent years, but the nationwide lockdown sparked a dramatic shift in how those services were delivered.


Libraries’ response to the crisis went far beyond digital delivery, and public libraries were widely recognised as vitally important to local communities. Here’s an overview of how it went.


The pre-Covid landscape Over


In 2010 there were 4,356 libraries across England, Scotland and Wales; over 20,000 full time equivalent staff, and funding topped £1 billion.


A decade later the picture looked like this:


3,763 15,419


Libraries† Library staff‡


£677m 170m


Funding for libraries† Books issued‡ Over 214m


Visits to a library per year§


† England;


‡ UK; § UK excluding NI


7.6m Active borrowers‡


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