Coronavirus: E-Library use in Shropshire soars as people stay at home

Shropshire’s libraries may be temporarily closed to reduce the spread of coronavirus, but they still have plenty to offer their communities from the safety of their own homes via the E-Library.

Free access to the E-Library via library card to e-books, magazines and newspapers is proving incredibly popular.

Use of the E-Library has soared since the closure of library branches across the county. During this time, there has been a 73% increase in the borrowing of e-books and e-audio from the Cloud Library.

The number of people reading newspaper and magazine articles for free on the virtual Press Reader with their Shropshire Libraries card has shot up by 65%.

Shropshire Libraries branches across the county are adding daily to the range of virtual activities on offer for children and adults alike.

Librarians have also put together a ‘Libraries at Home’ toolkit on the Shropshire Libraries website, including a list of reputable resources designed to help all ages to keep reading and learning

Mirka Duxberry, Shropshire Council’s library development team manager, said:

“Our libraries are innovating fast to bring services to local people during these difficult times and the response has been immediate.  

“Our e-resources have been hugely popular. We’re always trying to improve the range and quality of material available on our E-Library to help local people keep busy but safe as we continue to stay at home.”

Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture, leisure, waste and communications, said:

“I’ve been using the e-library for a long time; however, the last few weeks have really made me appreciate the service and I’ve now started on the magazines.

“If you haven’t already used the e-library, I would urge you do so; I think you’ll be amazed by the range and quality of free material that is available.”

Around Shropshire Libraries – Resources for adults and children

Library branches across Shropshire have been introducing virtual rhyme times, offering online Lego clubs, and encouraging children aged between 5 and 9 to sign up to Arts Award discover and earn a qualification whilst staying at home.

Residents missing their regular book club meetings are exchanging reading tips on the Shropshire Libraries Reading Group Facebook page, while the offer of free access with a library card to family history websites such as Ancestry and Find My Past has seen a surge of interest.

We want to continue to develop our library services to meet local need. Please follow @ShropLibraries on Twitter or use the Facebook page of their nearest library to let us know how we’re doing.

For more information, visit the Shropshire Libraries webpage https://shropshire.gov.uk/libraries/.

Further information 

Keep informed and sign up to our daily Coronavirus email updates

Shropshire Council wants to keep you as up to date and informed as possible. To help us do this, we have developed a coronavirus update, that will be sent daily at 8pm via email to anyone who has signed up to our e-bulletins.

This update includes the day’s key Shropshire Council news relating to coronavirus-linked issues.  Please click here to sign up for the updates.

Please do encourage your family and friends to sign up to the updates too. This will help us keep everyone up to date with the rapidly-evolving crisis.