Indicator: Library Borrowings

Status:

What we know from research

What the data indicates about Mildura
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, libraries are the second most frequently attended cultural venues – after cinemas. In 2002, 6.1 million people or 42.1% of the Australian population aged 15 to 74 visit libraries at least once a year. The use made of libraries in Mildura and possibly in regional areas generally appears on the evidence of the records of the Municipal Library and its branches to be lower than for the nation as a whole. A fraction under a quarter (24.4%) of the total population of the five sub-regions for which data is available can be regarded as ‘active’ in that they borrowed from the Municipal Library during the period 1st t July 2004 to 2nd December, 2005. The result was almost identical when the calculation was based on people 15 years of age and older (24.7% of that segment of the population).

The proportion of ‘active’ library users within each sub-region approximated to each locality’s share of population with Mildura Central and Irymple slightly exceeding their proportion but not to any significant extent. On the present evidence the challenge is less one of increasing equity but rather raising the overall use of libraries to match the demands of the ‘Information Age.’ Strategies to achieve that goal need to be linked to the earlier discussed requirement of expanding residents’ access to computers and the internet.

Council’s libraries are located at Mildura City, Red Cliffs, Merbein and Irymple and the Mobile Library serves Nangiloc, Underbool, Cowangie, Ouyen, Werrimull, Walpeup, Murrayville and Cullulleraine.

LIBRARY USAGE
Source: Tables 03 2001 Census of Population and Housing, Mildura Rural City Council – Library Service

Legend
	Upward trend			Progress away from desired direction
	Downward trend
	No observable trend		Progress towards desired direction
	Under construction

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Last Updated: Monday, 5 February 2007