The bar chart illustrates the data about library borrowing in UK public libraries between 1995 and 2005.
Overall, it is clear that the popularity of libraries in the UK declined dramatically throughout the period. In addition, Adult non-fiction and top audio-visual materials showed significant differences: the former registered the highest book popularity except in 2 periods, whereas top audio-visual materials experienced the lowest figure.
Looking first at Adult non-fiction in 1995, it attracted many people, representing 1113 million copies; however, from 2000 to 2005, the number of copies dropped down significamtly, accounting for 161 and 110, respectively. Meanwhile, adult fiction ranked second, making up 330 million copies, but in 2000, it started ranking first, and also in 2005, comprising 280 and 230.
In contrast, children’s books were one of the least popular books, in 2000, it began with 107 million copies before going up slightly, representing 114. Consequently, in 2005, children’s books almost stayed unchanged, comprising 104 million copies and ranking third. Moreover, top audio-visual materials were the least popular items borrowed each year, starting at 28 and increasing to 60, consistently ranking last.
