§ Mr. Peter Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of books available for circulation in public libraries in England, Scotland and Wales at the latest available date.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonIn 1975 there were some 117.6 million volumes in public libraries of which about 88 per cent. were available for circulation.
§ Mr. Peter Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the average number of books borrowed annually from public libraries in England, Scotland and Wales;
(2) how the current figures for borrowings from public libraries in England, Scotland and Wales compares with five years ago and 10 years ago, respectively.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThe number borrowed in 1974–75 was some 531 million. A comparable figure for the previous year is not available and it is, therefore, not possible to give a current average. The numbers in 1969–70 and 1964–65 were 648 million and 531 million respectively.