Library Survey. 2018

In 2018 there were 850 libraries in Catalonia, 8 fewer than in 2016. The number of public libraries stood at 458, and they were the only ones to increase in number in comparison with 2016 (1.3%). In contrast, the number of specialised libraries fell by 2.1% (321), as did the number of higher education institutions and those that offered exclusive services to specific groups of users.

Public libraries accounted for 53.9% of the total in Catalonia, while the percentage reached 72.3% in El Penedès and Les Terres de l’Ebre. In addition, 2 out of every 3 specialised libraries in Catalonia were located in the Metropolitan Area.

In 2018 96.7% of the libraries in Catalonia had access to Internet, 86.1% had a Wi-Fi connection and 83.3% had a web page. As for library density, it remained stable at 1.1 per every 10,000 inhabitants throughout the whole of Catalonia, although the counties with the highest values were El Pallars Sobirà (5.8) and L’Alta Ribagorça (5.2).

The existing funds increased by 1.6% with respect to 2016, with a total of 41.2 million documents. The number of books remained stable in relation to 2016 (26,208,991 volumes), while graphic documents increased most in number (20.9%).

With regard to borrowing, books were the most borrowed documents (11,451,505), although the number fell by 1.5% in comparison with 2016. Loans of other documents also fell, except for electronic books, which recorded a rise from 25,806 in 2016 to 42,067 in 2018.

The expenditure of libraries in Catalonia totalled 196.1 million euros in 2018. Staff expenditure accounted for 62.6% of the total, followed by current expenditure, which accounted for 18%. The total number of people at the service of libraries totalled 5,102 in 2018.