Public libraries in England recorded an estimated 130.3 million physical book loans during April 2023 to March 2024. The same activity dataset counted millions of additional ebook, digital-audiobook and physical-audiobook loans. A later nationally representative survey measured how adults used libraries during April 2024 to March 2025, including borrowing-related activity and digital engagement.
In this article
- Loans by format in 2023/24
- Physical book borrowing by local authority
- Digital borrowing by local authority
- What adults did in libraries
- Age and sex patterns
- Regional differences
Loans by format in 2023/24
The Arts Council England English Libraries Activity Data 2023/24: DCMS Analysis reports estimated public-library activity for England from April 2023 to March 2024. It records loans by format, so physical books and digital items can be viewed separately rather than treated as one interchangeable measure.
| Format | Estimated loans or issues | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Physical books | 130.3 million | April 2023–March 2024 |
| Ebooks | 12.8 million | April 2023–March 2024 |
| Digital audiobooks | 12.1 million | April 2023–March 2024 |
| Physical audiobooks | 1.75 million | April 2023–March 2024 |
Physical book borrowing was the largest reported format in this England estimate. Ebook and digital-audiobook activity were both reported in the tens of millions, while physical-audiobook loans were reported at 1.75 million. These figures describe recorded or estimated loans during the stated year; they do not provide a forecast for a later period.
The source also cautions that the national analysis is not an official statistic and that comparability with other datasets is limited. That qualification matters when interpreting the totals: they are useful for describing the activity covered by this analysis, but they should not be presented as a directly comparable time series with every other library dataset. Arts Council England English Libraries Activity Data 2023/24: DCMS Analysis
Physical book borrowing by local authority
The same 2023/24 activity analysis reported physical book issues for individual English local authorities. The largest figures in the supplied local-authority set were recorded by Surrey and Hertfordshire, followed by Hampshire, Norfolk, Lancashire and Kent.
| Local authority | Physical book issues, 2023/24 |
|---|---|
| Surrey | 4,303,922 |
| Hertfordshire | 4,179,767 |
| Hampshire | 3,758,834 |
| Norfolk | 3,311,415 |
| Lancashire | 3,110,645 |
| Kent | 3,097,231 |
| Oxfordshire | 3,061,454 |
| West Sussex | 2,992,626 |
Surrey recorded 4,303,922 physical book issues from April 2023 to March 2024, while Hertfordshire recorded 4,179,767. Hampshire recorded 3,758,834, and Norfolk recorded 3,311,415. Lancashire and Kent were close in the supplied figures, with 3,110,645 and 3,097,231 issues respectively.
The next figures were 3,061,454 physical book issues in Oxfordshire and 2,992,626 in West Sussex. The numbers are local-authority activity figures, not population-adjusted borrowing rates. Therefore, this list shows the reported volume of physical issues and does not establish which area had the highest number of issues per resident.
A second group of authorities recorded between about 1.5 million and 2.2 million physical book issues in the same period. Nottinghamshire recorded 2,149,839, Suffolk 2,077,641, Devon 1,936,700 and Derbyshire 1,773,816. East Riding of Yorkshire recorded 1,621,439, while North Yorkshire recorded 1,621,275. Sefton recorded 1,614,816, Lincolnshire 1,565,460 and Worcestershire 1,545,273.
These local figures should be read alongside the source’s national caveat. They are reported activity for 2023/24 in the Arts Council England analysis, and the supplied material does not provide a common population denominator or a complete ranking table for every English authority.
Digital borrowing by local authority
Digital issues varied by format and authority. Hertfordshire recorded 1,721,541 ebook issues in 2023/24, the largest ebook figure in the supplied local-authority data. Suffolk recorded 1,035,644 ebook issues. Kent recorded 502,259, Hampshire 472,945 and Oxfordshire 181,697.
Digital-audiobook issues followed a different pattern in the reported examples. Lancashire recorded 720,676 digital-audiobook issues, while Hampshire recorded 713,097. Hertfordshire recorded 518,398, and the figures for Norfolk and Surrey were 174,793 and 174,633 respectively.
| Local authority | Format | Issues, 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire | Ebooks | 1,721,541 |
| Suffolk | Ebooks | 1,035,644 |
| Lancashire | Digital audiobooks | 720,676 |
| Hampshire | Digital audiobooks | 713,097 |
| Hertfordshire | Digital audiobooks | 518,398 |
| Kent | Ebooks | 502,259 |
| Hampshire | Ebooks | 472,945 |
| Norfolk | Digital audiobooks | 174,793 |
| Surrey | Digital audiobooks | 174,633 |
| Oxfordshire | Ebooks | 181,697 |
The comparison illustrates why format labels need to remain attached to the numbers. Hertfordshire appears in both ebook and digital-audiobook records, but those are separate categories. Hampshire also has separate ebook and digital-audiobook figures, and the two measures should not be combined without a supplied basis for doing so. The figures describe issues during April 2023 to March 2024, not unique borrowers or the number of different titles borrowed.
What adults did in libraries
The Main report for the Participation Survey, April 2024 to March 2025, provides a different type of evidence. It is a nationally representative survey estimate for adults aged 16 and over in England. It measures engagement with libraries, including physical and digital contact, rather than counting every loan recorded by library services.
In 2024/25, 31% of adults in England engaged with libraries at least once during the previous 12 months. Physical engagement reached 26%, while digital engagement reached 16%. Ten percent engaged both physically and digitally. The survey also reported 16% who engaged exclusively physically and 5% who engaged exclusively digitally.
Borrowing-related actions were a substantial part of both forms of engagement. Among adults who physically engaged with libraries, 61% borrowed, browsed or returned items. Among adults who digitally engaged with libraries, 46% reserved or renewed books or paid a fine. These are conditional percentages: each applies to the relevant group of adults who had already engaged physically or digitally, rather than to all adults in England.
The survey figures therefore complement the 2023/24 loan estimates without measuring the same thing. The activity dataset counts issues by format and authority for one year. The survey describes the share of adults reporting library engagement and selected actions in the following year. The periods overlap only in the broad calendar of recent library use; they are not a single combined measurement.
Main report for the Participation Survey (April 2024 to March 2025)
Age and sex patterns
Physical and digital engagement differed across the age groups reported by the Participation Survey. Physical library engagement reached 30% among 16-to-19-year-olds in England during 2024/25. Among adults aged 20 to 24, physical engagement was 22%. For adults aged 35 to 44, the reported physical-engagement range was 31% to 35%.
Older groups had lower reported physical-engagement ranges in the supplied figures. Physical engagement among adults aged 50 to 64 ranged from 19% to 22%. The dataset does not provide one single value for every age within that range, so the range should be retained rather than converted into an unsupported average.
Digital engagement among adults aged 16 to 29 ranged from 20% to 23% during 2024/25. It was 20% among adults aged 35 to 39. Among adults aged 50 to 64, the reported range was 11% to 13%, and among adults aged 70 or older it ranged from 8% to 13%.
The survey also reported differences by sex. Physical library engagement was 30% for women and 22% for men in England during 2024/25. Digital library engagement was 17% for women and 14% for men. These are survey estimates for adults aged 16 and over in England, not local-authority loan totals.
Taken together, the age and sex figures show that engagement was not uniform across the adult population. They do not explain why the percentages differed, and the supplied evidence does not support attributing the differences to a particular cause. The clearest measurement distinction is between physical engagement, digital engagement and the borrowing-related actions reported within those engaged groups.
Regional differences
The Participation Survey also reported differences across English regions and smaller geographic areas during April 2024 to March 2025. Physical library engagement was 22% in the East Midlands, 19% in the North East, 29% in the East of England and 31% in London.
At a more detailed geographic level, physical engagement varied from 17% in Tees Valley and Durham to 33% in Outer London-South. Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire recorded 31%, while Lincolnshire recorded 18%.
Digital engagement was 21% of adults in London. Across the smaller areas reported, digital engagement varied from 8% in Tees Valley and Durham to 23% in Inner London-East. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly recorded 12% digital engagement.
| Area | Physical engagement | Digital engagement |
|---|---|---|
| London | 31% | 21% |
| East Midlands | 22% | Not supplied |
| North East | 19% | Not supplied |
| East of England | 29% | Not supplied |
| Tees Valley and Durham | 17% | 8% |
| Outer London-South | 33% | Not supplied |
| Inner London-East | Not supplied | 23% |
| Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | Not supplied | 12% |
The geographic percentages are adult survey estimates, whereas the local-authority numbers in the earlier sections are counts of reported issues. A region with a higher engagement percentage cannot automatically be described as having more book loans, because the supplied material does not provide the corresponding population totals, service coverage details or loan counts for every region. Keeping those measures separate gives a clearer view of public library use in England across 2023/24 and 2024/25.