Libraries remain in Brisbane’s good books, with a five-year patronage high reflecting residents love of the Schrinner Council’s 33 community libraries.
More than 5.5 million visits to Council libraries were recorded in the past financial year, which is a 10 per cent annual increase and the highest visitation since the global covid pandemic.
The most popular libraries in the past 12 months were Brisbane Square in the CBD with 539,535 visits and Chermside with 484,869 visitors.
Brisbane’s new library at Everton Park is proving popular with over 54,000 visitors since it opened in March this year.
Wynnum’s library also achieved record patronage highs with more than 325,000 visitors in the past 12 months.
Residents made more than 10 million loans from Council’s extensive library collection of books, CDs, DVDs and online resources throughout 2023/24, which equals almost 27,400 loans every single day.
The most popular books borrowed include #1 New York Times Best Seller The Secret by Lee Child, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han and The 169-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths.
In the past 12 months Council installed six new 24/7 library lockers (Carina, Holland Park, New Farm, Mitchelton, The Grange and Bracken Ridge) which made borrowing even easier and collectively have had more than 10,000 collections.
Over 340,000 people attended one of the 12,000 free library events in the past 12 months, including more than 200,000 attendees to the popular early literacy program.
More than 1.1 million residents logged on to Brisbane libraries free Wi-Fi since July 2023.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:
“Brisbane’s libraries provide so much to see and do and make our suburbs the best place to live, work and relax.
“Our 33 suburban libraries help shape Brisbane’s incredible lifestyle with books and other fantastic resources available for all ages and interests.
“We’re committed to Brisbane residents paying less and getting more than other Councils and our libraries host more than 12,000 free library events every year ranging from toddler story time to technology workshops.
FOR THE EDITOR:
Top libraries visited in 2023/2024:
- Brisbane Square Library – 539,525 visits
- Chermside Library – 484,869 visits
- Garden City Library – 438,653 visits
- Sunnybank Hills Library – 400,754 visits
- Carindale Library – 384,704 visits
Top five most popular titles borrowed in 2023/24:
| Adult Fiction | The Secret – Lee Child | Yellowface – R. F. Kuang | Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus | Lola in the Mirror – Trent Dalton | The Bookbinder of Jericho – Pip Williams |
| Non-Fiction | Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s invisible life – Anna Funder | Spare – Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex | Love Stories – Trent Dalton | Outlive: the Science & Art of Longevity | Did I ever tell you this?: a memoir – Sam Neill |
| Junior Fiction | The 169-storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths (Treehouse Series) | No Brainer – Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series) | Cat Kid Comic Club – On Purpose – Dav Pilkey
(Cat Kid Comic Club series) |
Thea Stilton and the Fiesta In Mexico – Thea Stilton
(Thea Stilton Series) |
Weird Wedding! – Anh Do (WeirDo series) |
| Young Adult Fiction | The Summer I Turned Pretty – Jenny Han | A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson | The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins | A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas | One of Us is Lying – Karen M. McManus |
