Libraries - Taking Part Survey 2019/20
Published 16 September 2020
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2020
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The Taking Part survey asks questions on whether respondents have visited a library. The survey questions for 5-10 year olds are completed by an adult on behalf of the child and ask about activities done outside of school only. The interview for 11-15 year olds is conducted with the young person themselves and the questions cover library visits done both in school lessons and outside of school.
In 2019/20, 61% of children aged 5-15 had visited a library in the last 12 months, a similar proportion to the previous year (67%). However, this is a decline in engagement compared to the start of the series in 2008/09 (75%).
Figure 4.1: Library use in the last 12 months by age group, 2008/09 to 2019/20
1. 5 to 10 year olds
In 2019/20, 64% of children aged 5-10 had visited a library outside of school in the last 12 months, the same proportion to the previous year (64%) and a significant decrease compared to 2008/09 (72%), the start of the data collection.
In 2019/20, a similar proportion of boys and girls had visited a library in the last 12 months, 60% and 67% respectively. These findings are also similar to the previous year, 60% for boys and 69% for girls in 2018/19. In 2018/19, girls were more likely to have visited a library than boys, but no significant difference was observed in 2019/20.
2. 11-15 year olds
In 2019/20, 58% of 11-15 year olds had visited a library in the last 12 months either inside or outside of school. This is a significant decrease from 2018/19 (70%) and a decrease compared to 2006/07 (72%), the start of the data collection.
A similar proportion of boys and girls aged 11-15 had visited a library in the 12 months prior to 2019/20 (59% and 57%, respectively). The proportion of girls visiting the library in 2019/20 (57 %) decreased from the previous year 2018/19 (72%), whilst the proportion of boys visiting the library remained stable between 2018/19 and 2019/20.
2.1 In and out of school engagement
More 11-15 year olds (24%) visited a library both inside and outside of school, than outside school only (14%). The proportion of 11-15 year olds who visited a library outside of school time in 2019/20 (14%) was similar to the proportion in 2018/19 (18%), whilst less 11-15 year olds visited a library in school in 2019/20 (19%), than in the previous year 2018/19 (31%).
Figure 4.2: Proportion of 11-15 year olds that visited a library in the last 12 months split by in school and outside school engagement, 2018/19 and 2019/20
