The bar chart provides information about library borrowing in UK public libraries over a decade period between 1995 and 2005.
Overall, the number of all categories experienced a downward trend, with the exception of top audio-visual material which showed the opposite trend. Notably, the figure for adult non-fiction recorded the most pronounced decrease and that of the adult fiction became the highest.
Focusing on the categories that recorded the highest figures, these were seen in adult fiction and adult non-fiction. In 1995, the figure for adult non-fiction and adult fiction stood at 1113 million and 330 million, respectively. By 2000, the number of adult non-fiction and adult fiction witnessed a decreasing trend, with the former falling substantially to 161 million and the latter declining significantly to 280 million. In 2005, the figure for adult non-fiction continued to drop, reaching 110 million, while the corresponding figure for adult fiction fell sharply to 230 million.
Regarding the lowest figures, these were observed in children’s books and top audio-visual material. In 1995, the number of children’s books stood at 107 million, with the top audio-visual material lagging far behind at 28 million. By 2000, both figures experienced an upward trend, with the children’s books rising to 33 million and top audio-visual material growing to 114 million. The figures for children’s books and top audio-visual material witnessed a different change, with the former increasing significantly to 60 million, reaching its peak, and the latter declining slightly to 104 million in 2005.