Library league tables

1. Norfolk & Norwich Millennium 1,500,695
2. Birmingham Central Library 1,357,148
3. Central Library, Manchester 1,081,798
4. Croydon Central Library 1,051,366
5 Brighton & Hove Jubilee 870,938
6 Suffolk County Library, Ipswich 847,080
7 Sunderland City Library and Arts Centre 778,050
8 Hounslow 766,232
9 Romford 759,722
10 Wood Green Central (Haringey) 745,141
11 Dundee Central Library, The Wellgate 743,470
12 Blackburn Central Library 739,024
13 Harris Library, Preston 696,800
14 Huddersfield Central Library 693,680
15 Colchester 682,955
16 Hendon Library 682,838
17 Chesterfield 664,612
18 Whitechapel 649,203
19 Woking 649,064
20 Central Library, Coventry 645,060

These are the most popular libraries in the country - the figures record the number of people who have visited them. I am delighted that Huddersfield Central library which I was part of the campaign to save when the LibDems tried to close it back in 2003, is so popular. It is truly wonderful. I have a picture of me on a stall collecting names on a petition somewhere, which I will post up with this entry later.

And this next table shows the libraries where the most books were taken out - don't forget that there is a lot more you can do in a library than simply borrow books, go on the internet for instance, or visit the geneaology resources or come to my surgery!

1. Norfolk & Norwich Millennium 1,139,090
2. Chelmsford 742,048
3 Milton Keynes Central 711,672
4 Central Library, Oxford 671,418
5 Chesterfield 634,024
6 Southend 609,667
7 Brighton & Hove Jubilee 600,723
8 Birmingham Central Library 578,657
9 Horsham Library 533,432
10 Carlisle 504,625
11 Nottingham Central Library 503,921
12 Exeter Central Library 488,100
13 Blackburn Central Library 473,210
14 Coventry Central Library 471,184
15 Sutton 469,239
16 Macclesfield 469,218
17 Taunton 464,308
18 York 463,437
19 Croydon Central Library 461,227
20 Bromley Central 454,766


This C&G qualified Library Assistant says "good on all those lovely people in Norwich who are making the most of their millenium library"