Connecting staff and young people
Recent figures show that there are 16.1 million visits made to public libraries each year. Some 5.1 million of these visits (32%) are made by children.
In 2009 there were 323,000 children registered as library members, 37% of the population in the 0-14 age group.
Getting to know your users
Public libraries have been continually assessing the needs of their users in order to meet their requirements. In this context several surveys of young people’s expectations from their library services have been carried out and the findings of some of these are documented below. The Public Lending Remuneration Scheme also publish useful information in relation to the borrowing habits of children and young people and their latest report can be downloaded from the PLR website.Plus Survey
The Plus Survey (Public Library User Survey) carried out in 2007 includes an analysis of library use for 15-19 year age group. Further details are contained in the PLUS Survey 2007 extractWhat Young People Want from Cork City Libraries
The aim of this survey which was undertaken by Cork City Libraries during 2007/08 was to allow the children of Cork City outline what they want from a public library system rather than what we as adults think they want and to give them a voice to help develop facilities, book stock and educational programmes relevant to them. Read moreDublin City’s Learning Zones Project: Valuing Youth
The desire to enhance existing library provision to primary school students provided the impetus for the Dublin City Public Libraries Children’s Learning Zone Initiative in 2008. Initiated, designed and implemented as a multi-dimensional support to children aged 8-13, it lead to the following outcomes:- Availability of targeted resources for homework research,
- Availability of a defined study space for homework use,
- Provision of support measures to encourage learning and reading.
