Number of libraries in country up by 43.4 pct: TÜİK data

ISTANBUL

The number of libraries in the country has surged by 43.4 percent in 2022, data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has revealed.

According to TÜİK data, in 2022, the number of libraries totaled 49,537, including one national library, 1,257 public libraries, 625 university libraries and 47,654 libraries of formal and non-formal education institutions. Thus, the total library count has increased by 43.4 percent.

The data also showed that the number of people using the national library has increased to 405,584, with a 125.7 percent rise compared to the previous year.

It was observed that the number of university libraries rose to 625, of which 475 are state and 150 are foundation universities.

While the number of printed books increased by 14.5 percent in all libraries and by 4.6 percent in university libraries, the number of e-books in university libraries has also shown an increase by 2.6 percent compared to 2021, and reached 95,947,266, the data stated.

TÜİK also revealed that the number of people using public libraries in 2022 increased by 70.8 percent compared to the previous year and reached 26,788,378, while the number of registered members in public libraries increased by 13.7 percent compared to 2021 to 5,568,283.