Digital ‘no substitute’ to traditional libraries

Most adults think digital services are an inadequate replacement for traditional libraries.

More than half (57%) expressed their preference for in-person services in a survey by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Just under a quarter (22%) agreed an online replacement was adequate.

The number of people using digital library services was up 11% last year on pre-pandemic levels, amounting to one fifth of all library users.

University of Glasgow professor David McMenemy, one of the research leads, said the findings suggest people missed libraries during the lockdowns.

"They are also social spaces at the heart of communities."