Children and young people value public libraries and recognise the benefits to them.
These were the findings of a review of three years of the young people’s library survey, a co-development by library professionals and CIPFA Research. The survey, which is divided into three age ranges 0-7 (completed by parents and carers), 7-11 and 11- 16, asks children and young people:
- how they feel about their library;
- what they enjoy and
- what else they would like to do in the library.
The report identified that whilst children and young people enjoy all the resources of the library, reading, a great choice of books and cultural activities are all still really important.
In the early years parents highlight the value of the library in terms of helping children feel ready to start school and building their language and communication skills.
Whilst the appearance of the library and its resources are important to children, the most important aspect of the library for most children is the welcome they receive from the library staff.
This report pulls together 3 years of data from 18 library services and 42,859 respondents. Findings have also been mapped against the index of multiple deprivation revealing that libraries are really important to young people and their families when access to resources for learning can be challenging, particularly for learning resources and computer availability.