Top reads, big crowds and even bigger stories saw 5.3 million people dive into our libraries in 2025.
Brisbane’s love of reading hasn’t diminished, with residents enjoying everything from crime thrillers and cookbooks to kids’ classics and beloved young adult series this year.
More than 5 million people visited Brisbane’s 33 libraries and Mobile Library in 2025, making them some of the city’s most popular community spaces.
We’re continuing to deliver more to see and do in the suburbs, with libraries bringing people together through reading, learning and connection while keeping costs down.
2025 Brisbane libraries in numbers:
• 5.9 million physical items borrowed
• 8,900+ free library events
• 2.1 million e-books and audiobooks downloaded
• 1,000+ people packed Brisbane City Hall for Matthew Reilly’s Writers in Residence event
• 20,000+ holds collected via Council’s 24/7 library lockers
• 1.1 million free Wi-Fi sessions used in libraries
• 240,000+ downloads of the BNELibraries app
• 33 libraries plus a Mobile Library delivering more to see and do across the city
We Solve Murders, the crime-fiction book by English TV presenter and novelist Richard Osman, was 2025’s most borrowed book in Brisbane with 2,306 check-outs.
The Schrinner Council continues to invest in modern, state-of-the-art libraries as well, including the recent roof replacement at Sandgate Library.
The heritage-listed library reopened in November last year, following a six-week upgrade.
Residents are invited to join our libraries’ Summer Reading program, with weekly book vouchers available for readers of all ages across Brisbane.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:
“Our libraries play a huge role in making Brisbane’s lifestyle even better.
“Last year told a great story about Brisbane libraries, showing how wide-ranging our reading tastes are at every age.
“Our libraries are some of the most loved places in our city, helping kids discover reading, supporting lifelong learning and providing welcoming spaces to connect and unwind.”
Top five most-borrowed reads of 2025 included:
Adult fiction
• We Solve Murders – Richard Osman
• In Too Deep – Lee Child
• Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty
• Lola in the Mirror – Trent Dalton
• Nightshade – Michael Connelly
Non-fiction
• The Let Them Theory – Mel Robbins
• Wifedom – Anna Funder
• The Anxious Generation – Jonathan Haidt
• RecipeTin Eats Tonight – Nagi Maehashi
• Memorial Days – Geraldine Brooks
Junior fiction series
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
• Adventures Unlimited – Andy Griffiths
• Cat Kid Comic Club – Dav Pilkey
• WeirDo – Anh Do
• Wings of Fire – Tui T Sutherland
Young adult fiction series
• The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
• A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J Maas
• The Summer I Turned Pretty – Jenny Han
• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson
• Powerless trilogy – Lauren Roberts
