Physical loans down at library but digital issues up
NEW statistics show that physical book issues are slightly down at the Shetland Library – “but this is not an indication that our population is reading less”.
That is the view of team leader Catherine Jeromson, who highlighted that loans of electronic formats – such as e-books and e-audiobooks – are up.
There were 102,089 physical issues between April 2025 and March this year, compared to 106,242 for 2024/25.
However issues of e-books, e-audio and e-magazines rose from 33,316 to 36,764.
Footfall, meanwhile, increased and has exceeded pre-Covid levels. Highlighting the library’s strong role in the community which reaches beyond just books, visits across public, community, mobile and school libraries rose from just under 180,000 to 191,235.
The Shetland Library service consists of the public library in Lerwick, one mobile library, seven school libraries and three community libraries in Baltasound, Brae and Aith.
There were also 288 events for adults and 226 for children, with over 7,000 people attending.
Shetland Library hosted more than double the number of book group sessions this year, to “encourage reading as more of a socially inclusive activity”.
Regarding the slight drop in physical issues Jeromson said that how literature is consumed is evolving, “and so are we”.
“The library is providing more opportunities for connection – digitally and socially,” she wrote in an update to councillors.
“In an increasingly digital world, we are providing help and support so that nobody is left behind or at a disadvantage due to a lack of skills or equipment.
“Yet, we are also providing more opportunities and support for social inclusion, beyond a screen. The ability to meet with other people with shared interests, in person.”
Jeromson also highlighted how the 2025 Young Writer competition received over 300 entries, on the theme ‘A Secret’.
Bookbug sessions for bairns continue to be popular, while the Isleshavn Care Centre in Yell has been praising the positive impact that hosting intergenerational Bookbug sessions has had.
A summer reading challenge proved a success, she added, while during the year the Anderson High School in Lerwick became the first Shetland school to be awarded a silver accreditation from Scottish Book Trust.
She also said connectivity outages in Shetland in 2025 provided an opportunity for the library “to shine”.
“Our DVD loans increased, with the absence of online streaming services,” Jeromson said, “and we had more people using our public access computers.”
Elsewhere the Shetland Library jigsaw collection was popular – with 184 loans over the year, amounting to around 92,000 pieces.
Meanwhile the library in Lerwick is set to host an event tomorrow (Saturday) between 12pm and 3pm which has a focus on ways to access reading.
Library staff will be joined by representatives from Adult Learning, CLAN Cancer Support and Macular Society Shetland.
It is part of Reading Sight’s HiVis fortnight, which celebrates the power of reading in all forms and reaffirms that reading should be accessible to everyone.
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