More than 44,000 books are currently missing from Malta’s national libraries, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
That is around seven per cent of all the books held in the State-owned collection, a spokeswoman for the libraries told this newspaper.
There are some 655,000 books on the shelves, spread across more than 55 libraries.
However, although efforts are being made to encourage more to visit the aisles and pick out a book, some are less inclined to return their borrowed titles once they have finished with them.
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The libraries’ spokeswoman was quick to point out, when asked for information on borrowing, that the figure for missing books was “subjective”.
She said some of the books might by now be outdated or worn out. It was not clear how many of the 44,000 had been removed from circulation for this purpose, she added.
Asked what action could be taken against those borrowers who do not return books, the spokesman said libraries could not issue fines.
We can block the borrower the moment one of his or her books is overdue
“However, we can block the borrower the moment one of his or her books is overdue,” she said.
The libraries can also request that the beastly borrowers fork out the cost of the books. This is done after repeated appeals for the return of borrowed books are ignored.
Information on whether people actually do pay for books they do not return was not available.
According to the last EU Cultural Participation study, published back in 2014, just over half of the Maltese surveyed said they had no interest in visiting a library whatsoever, while a further 35 per cent said they would but had no time to do so.
Two per cent of those surveyed pointed to a limited choice or poor quality of service.
At the time, The Sunday Times of Malta assistant editor Ramona Depares pointed out that the Central Library in Floriana alone contained over 105,000 books, items of reference and audiovisual materials.
So why the lack of interest in borrowing books? The libraries’ spokeswoman said the government was taking the issue seriously and their efforts were now bearing fruit.
Last year, the number of books borrowed exceeded the number of books held by the libraries. Some 845,000 books were taken out for a read in 2016, up from 650,000 in 2014.
This increase in book loans, according to the spokeswoman, was mainly attributable to more outreach activities, library refurbishments, and the introduction of e-books.
The substantial increase in library collections through collaborations with the National Literacy Agency and the Local Councils had also helped, she said.
The increased interest has continued this year. The spokeswoman said that the first few months of 2017 had already registered a more than five per cent increase in ‘loan rates’ compared to the same period in 2016, and the librarians hoped the pages would keep on turning.