Band 9: The charts below give information about the number of people who use public libraries and the main reasons to visit in Britain in 1991 and in 2000. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The charts show the number of people who visited public libraries in Britain in 1991 and 2000, together with the main reasons for their visits.

Overall, borrowing or returning books was the most common purpose in both years, but its proportion decreased by 2000, while borrowing videos and obtaining information became more popular.

In 1991, the majority of visitors, about 65%, went to libraries mainly to borrow or return books. Reading newspapers or magazines was the second most common reason, accounting for 15%. Both studying and obtaining information represented 10% each, while borrowing videos was not recorded at all.

By 2000, the percentage of people borrowing or returning books had fallen to 55%. At the same time, borrowing or returning videos appeared as a new category, making up 18% of visits. Obtaining information also increased significantly to 20%. In contrast, studying dropped to 5%, and reading newspapers or magazines declined sharply to only 2%.

The data shows that libraries became less focused on traditional reading and more on multimedia and information services over the decade.