Lincolnshire County Council report finds increase in borrowing of digital books following coronavirus pandemic

The rise in popularity of online lending has led to Lincolnshire’s digital library becoming more important than ever.

A report due for presentation to councillors next week reveals that it has essentially become the county’s 16th core library. Stamford and Bourne are two of the core libraries in the county, while Deepings has a community library.

The shift towards digital lending has added a new dimension to library services, rather than transitioning from physical to digital.

A report, set to appear before Lincolnshire County Council’s public protection and communities scrutiny committee on Tuesday (July 25), underscores the pandemic’s significant impact on library services.

“The strong return of physical issues, alongside digital issues, and active use of ePlatforms remaining at higher levels than pre-pandemic, seemed to indicate that the pandemic had not resulted in a simple shift from physical to digital,” it notes.

This data, showing a 65 per cent increase in visits and a 95 per cent increase in public network use compared to 2021/22, suggests that digital lending has complemented – not replaced – physical libraries.

The library service in Lincolnshire, delivered by GLL, includes 15 core libraries, mobile library services, and targeted provisions like Home Library Services and services for the visually impaired.

The service also supports community hubs, renewing at least 4,000 books for each community library.

The report also highlights the library service’s commitment to social value, a term for the monetised net value an organisation provides to society. In 2022/23, the core and mobile libraries generated £24,360,928 in social value, with public network use contributing £2,700,545 and physical stock borrowing £21,660,388.

The calculation of social value relies on five core Impact Indicators: Improved individual quality of life/subjective well-being, Quality of life, Increased educational attainment, and reduced medical service use.

As library services recover from the pandemic’s impact, the report notes a 57 per cent increase in participation in the summer reading challenge compared to 2021 and 6 per cent on 2019.

The library service also recorded the highest Net Promoter Score (+90 per cent) of all GLL Leisure and Library Partnerships, indicating high customer satisfaction and loyalty.