By Tate Papworth
New member sign-ups at the Sunshine library have dropped by 20 per cent in the past 12 months.
The library opened in July 2016, resulting in a spike in new members, loans and visits. However figures released by the council this month show patronage at the library has plateaued.
A total of 6514 new members signed up in 2017-18, while loans dropped 5.3 per cent with 302,035 items taken out.
Overall visits also fell 2.1 per cent to 469,281.
Cr Lucinda Congreve said the drop in numbers was expected.
“Our shiny new library isn’t a shiny new library any more, so a reduction in numbers was expected.”
However usage of the relocated Keilor library, which was opened in April 2017, remains strong.
The library has signed up 579 new members (a 50.7 per cent increase) and loans have jumped 33.8 per cent.
The Deer Park library also had a surge in members, up 12.7 per cent, but visits (2 per cent) and loans (0.2 per cent) fell.
With support for the municipality’s five libraries strong, the council is looking to implement the libraries after dark program.
The additional operating hours are one measure the council is considering as a prevention strategy to problem gambling.
