Library running out of books
Tuesday November 10, 2009
In an age when fewer people are visiting libraries around the country, the brand new Shepherds Bush Library is proving to be so popular that it is running out of books!
Council officials and librarians have been so stunned by the number of visitors that they have had to place an emergency £15,000 order for new titles!
The council initially bought over 20,000 new books, including 6,000 for children for use in the new library. That means that there in fact over 40,000 books in the state-of-the-art building at Westfield.
But due to the unprecedented interest in the library, nearly all of the books are out on loan and the council has received comments from visitors who are concerned that the shelves look bare.
Blair Halliday said: “I very much like the new Shepherds Bush Library building but I feel its let down by the lack of books, especially in the children’s section. The old library had a really large selection of kids books, shelf after shelf and none of these books seem to have made the move to Wood Lane, what we have now is empty shelving.
"If this is due to the success of the new building and the many new members maybe the Council should be buying even more new books to make the library even more popular.”
With many local authorities around the country closing libraries, H&F has taken the unusual step of ordering an extra £15,000 worth of books, including over £1,500 of children’s books. These new titles are expected to arrive in the next few weeks.
The new building has recorded an incredible 700 per cent increase in membership compared to one year ago. In September 2008, 209 people registered at the old Shepherds Bush Library on Uxbridge Road. In the last month, an astonishing 1,415 people joined the brand new library.
Records also show that during the last month, 41,000 people visited the new library – that is enough people to fill Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge stadium! This time last year, only 26,000 people went to the old building.
Cllr Paul Bristow, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “No sooner are we putting books on the shelves than they are being taken out on loan again! We just can’t keep up with the unprecedented demand at the new library.
"We always knew that taking a cutting-edge library to Europe’s largest inner-city shopping centre would be a popular move and the level of interest so far really has been astounding.”
The council has also noticed a huge number of young people visiting the library, keen to use the large study space, Wi Fi connections and public access PCs. Other young people are being drawn in by the teenage area with computer games, music mixing software and chill-out space.
If that is not enough, there is also a dedicated space for quiet reading and children's activities and meeting and exhibition spaces.
The Work Zone, an employment bureau housed inside the library, has also been inundated with customers. It provides a dedicated recruitment and retention service for retailers and employers to fill their jobs locally and has received numerous enquiries.
