Otley’s MP has visited Otley Library to celebrate Libraries Week. October 2017 will see the first ever Libraries week- a showcase of all the creative, innovative and diverse activities that UK libraries have to offer.
Between Monday 9 to Saturday 14 October there will be the chance for people to discover something new at their library- fromcode clubs to play and learning fir children, to managing health, to finding a job, a hobby or starting a business.
Alex Sobel was greeted by staff and bookworms at Otley Library on Monday and the MP for Leeds North West was impressed by what he heard.
Alex said “Libraries are not just about books; they are an essential service supporting entrepreneurs and those seeking work, ensuring access to computers and the digital universe, providing cultural and creative experiences, supporting research, applying for benefits such as universal credit as wel as improving reading and literacy. We must all work to protect our Libraries and Libraries week is a great way of showing our government just how much our communities depend on them.”
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250 million visits were made to public libraries in Great Britain last year. This is more than cinema and theatre visits, visits to the UK’s top ten tourist attractions and the number of people that went to live music gigs combined.
Young people are the group most likely to use public libraries. Across the British Isles 15-24 year olds more likely to use libraries than over 55s.
51% of us have a current library card and 47% have used a public library in the last 12 months.
Three out of Four People in the UK and Ireland say that libraries are important or essential to their communities.