Malta at bottom of EU readership table

A Eurobarometer Survey carried out between February and March 2007 showed that 54 per cent of Maltese respondents did not read a book in the preceding 12 months - the highest percentage in the EU, where the average is 28 percent. In Sweden, 60...

A Eurobarometer Survey carried out between February and March 2007 showed that 54 per cent of Maltese respondents did not read a book in the preceding 12 months - the highest percentage in the EU, where the average is 28 percent.

In Sweden, 60 percent of respondents indicating that they had read more than five books during the reference period.

According to the same survey, 75 percent of Maltese respondents never visited a public library during the reference period. The country that made most use of public libraries was Denmark, where 39 percent of respondents visited a public library more than five times during the preceding 12 months.

The National Statistics Office said that in Malta, membership of libraries has been in decline for the past four years but new membership by adults increased in Gozo last year.

The total number of book acquisitions in public libraries increased from 19,995 in 2006 to 27,119 in 2007, mainly due to donations received by libraries.

A significant increase was noted in private consumption expenditure on newspapers and periodicals during 2007 when compared to 2006. A marginal increase was noted in the expenditure of books during 2007 over the previous year.

World Book and Copyright Day is being celebrated today.

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