West Berkshire libraries lent 657,869 items in 2025/26, down 12%, the first fall since the pandemic. Visits edged up to 323,767. The figures by year.
West Berkshire’s libraries lent fewer items last year. Loans and renewals fell to 657,869 in the year to March 2026, from 750,721 the year before. That is a drop of 92,852, or 12.4%.
It is the first fall since the pandemic. Loans had risen every year from 2020/21 to 2024/25.
Visits went the other way, just. The eight libraries counted 323,767 visits, up from 321,507. That is a rise of 0.7%.
The figures are in the library service’s annual report for 2025/26. (West Berkshire Libraries Annual Report 2025-26)
The council published the report on 12 October under the headline “visitor numbers continue to grow”. Its release gave the 2025/26 loan total but not the year before, so the fall does not appear in it. (West Berkshire Council, 12 October 2026)
Where the fall came from
Most of it was digital. E-library loans fell from 311,393 to 236,096, a drop of about 75,000. The report prints the new figure as “23,6096”, which we read as 236,096.
The fall came as the service moved its e-library to a single platform, BorrowBox. The 2024/25 report said using one provider would make access easier “while also achieving cost efficiencies”. The new report does not say whether the switch affected borrowing.
The service’s spending on supplies and services, which includes e-resources, has fallen two years running. It was £157,533 in 2023/24, £82,347 in 2024/25 and £62,077 in 2025/26.
Burghfield Library was also closed for part of the year. Mortimer Library opened for extra hours to cover. The report does not give the dates or the reason.
Visits are still below where they were
Visits have climbed back every year since the libraries reopened. They have not yet returned to the 2018/19 level of 349,365. Last year’s total was 25,598 short of that, or 7.3%.
The year-by-year figures come from each annual report since 2017/18. They are all on the council’s annual report page.
What rose and what fell
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Visits | 321,507 | 323,767 |
| Items loaned | 750,721 | 657,869 |
| E-library loans | 311,393 | 236,096 |
| Active borrowers | 21,447 | 21,953 |
| New members | 5,627 | 5,275 |
| Reservations | 78,301 | 75,391 |
| Computer sessions | 18,250 | 15,253 |
| Events held | 2,614 | 3,070 |
| Event attendances | 34,958 | 37,106 |
| Summer Reading Challenge children | 3,241 | 3,130 |
| Volunteers | 329 | 337 |
| Volunteer hours | 13,259 | 14,283 |
The events programme is the clear growth area. The libraries ran 456 more events, and attendances rose by more than 2,000. These include Rhymetimes and Storytimes, author talks and wellbeing sessions.
Active borrowers also rose slightly, by 506. So the drop is fewer loans per borrower, not fewer borrowers.
What it costs
The service cost £1,281,036 to run last year after income, up from £1,250,528. That is about £3.96 per visit.
- Staff costs rose from £998,720 to £1,059,423.
- Fees, room hire, events and sales brought in £130,010, up from £106,697.
- Contributions from town and parish councils fell from £38,398 to £12,838. The service changed how it sells extra hours and pop-up libraries to parishes during the year.
The parish money paid for longer opening at Pangbourne and Lambourn. It also funds pop-up libraries in Compton, Basildon and Leckhampstead, which had 476 visits and nearly 1,500 loans between April 2025 and February 2026. The council says pop-ups have since opened in Aldworth, Shaw-cum-Donnington and Speen.
What it means for you
- Joining is free for anyone who lives, works or studies in West Berkshire. The libraries are Newbury, Burghfield Common, Hungerford, Lambourn, Mortimer, Pangbourne, Thatcham and Theale.
- The e-library now runs on one platform, BorrowBox. You sign in with your library card.
- Housebound readers can ask for the At Home Library Service.
- If you live in a village without a library, the pop-up and outreach times are on the council’s outreach page.
Sources: West Berkshire Libraries annual reports 2017/18 to 2025/26; West Berkshire Council release, 12 October 2026. All read on 15 October 2026.
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