Over the past 12 months, Sefton Library users borrowed over 590,000 books and audiobooks. They also read 313,000 newspapers. If they had bought all of these books and papers it would have cost them as much as £5.3 million.

Around 560,000 visits

Sefton Council’s six libraries are at Bootle, Crosby, Formby, Meadows in Maghull, Netherton and Southport. Residents visit their libraries each year by around 560,000 times. Southport Library loaned the most books - 88,000 - last year while August was the busiest month overall with 63,000 loans.

It’s free to join Sefton Libraries and get your Library Card. And once you’ve joined, you can borrow standard and large print books, e-books and talking books on CD, for free. Over 7,000 daily newspapers from across the world are available to read free online, as well as magazines.

Great value

Cllr Liz Dowd, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnership Engagement, said: “By using our great library service, people across Sefton saved themselves over £5 million last year on what it would have cost to go out and buy them.

“It’s great value especially for parents and carers wanting to get young children into the habit of reading and experiencing the joy of books.

“And the numbers of people using our online newspaper services has rocketed, showing people value the ability to stay connected with what’s going on in the world.”

So much more than books

Cllr Dowd continued: “These days Libraries are about so much more than just books. There are free computer internet and Wi-Fi access in all Sefton libraries. 

“And they put on over 1,300 community activities each year including gardening clubs, reading groups, the Grief Choir, sensory play sessions and visits from Zooman and his exotic animals.

You can find out more about Sefton’s Library service here.