A million searches for library books

Rochdale Council has recorded a million searches on its library web catalogue since it was launched three years ago.

The online catalogue allows searches of more than 160,000 books, CDs and videos, as well as highlighting useful material on the internet.

Head of Information and Libraries Paul Young said the council is always looking for ways to improve the service and make libraries more accessible: “In addition to using the internet, a growing number of people have also chosen to enquire about library services, join the library or renew their books by phone.”

The catalogue can also be used to reserve items for collection at local libraries, renew items and search for newspaper articles.

So far the website has processed nearly 300,000 online loan renewals and 12,400 online reservations. It also includes a special children’s area together with a list of recommended reads.

The catalogue is available online:

www.rochdale.gov.uk/libraries