You are here: Home About Council News & Publications Media Releases 2023 December Citylibraries loans almost 600,000 items in 2023

Citylibraries loans almost 600,000 items in 2023

Date published: 8 December 2023

More than half a million items have made their way from Citylibraries to the Townsville community this year, with Bluey ranking among the most pup-ular loans in 2023.

Bluey has reigned supreme as she drew almost 10,000 visitors to the launch of Citylibraries Riverway, marking the year’s most attended program. She also topped the list of Citylibraries’ most-borrowed DVD with 91 loans of Bluey Vol 12: Baby race and other stories.

The most popular book loan for the year was The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams, with 456 loans in 2023. The book was celebrated across the city as this year’s One Title One Townsville novel, with the author delivering a Q&A here in Townsville this June.

The Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey was the most-loaned junior fiction book, with 107 loans, while Spare by Duke of Sussex Prince Harry was the most-borrowed non-fiction book after being loaned 90 times.

Community and Cultural Development Committee chairperson Ann-Maree Greaney said she was proud to see the Townsville community enjoy the services Citylibraries Townsville offers.

“We’ve had almost 300,000 people through our libraries this year, which is a huge number considering Citylibraries Riverway only came online in late April. We’ve been able to lend out almost 600,000 items this year, including from our library of things, with our Elna sewing machine being loaned out 22 times,” Cr Greaney said.

“Dogs were clearly popular for our younger library visitors, with our Bluey DVDs and The Dog Man books constantly being checked out this year. I’ve loved seeing how many young people have been making the most of our libraries in 2023, right through from our Baby Rhyme Time activities to using our teenagers’ hang-out zones.

“Our libraries are a hub for our community to grow through knowledge sharing, personal growth and empowerment. They give all of us the chance to access a wealth of resources and lifelong learning opportunities, cultivate a love of reading and connect with our fellow residents and visitors to our region.

“We’ve been so proud to open Citylibraries Riverway this year. The state-of-the-art library features age-specific reading spaces, creative spaces, meeting rooms, and plenty of room to play and explore. This accessible library connects one of Townsville’s premier outdoor spaces at Riverway with a huge array of resources for free for our community.

“Membership to Citylibraries Townsville is free, so if you don’t have a library card just pop into your local branch to sign up. You’ll be able to use your card to borrow books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and items from our library of things like our sewing machine, gaming consoles, or instruments.

“I’d like to also encourage our community to get down to their local library to see what’s on. Between workshops and creative spaces to practice woodworking, sewing or podcasting, there’s always an exciting hands-on activity to enjoy.

“We also offer services from our Citylibraries branches like JP in the Library and Career Chats, which help connect the community with the services they need at the time they choose.”