Canberrans have Australia's best library service

A recent report into the national welfare and economic contributions of public libraries found that Canberra libraries provide a greater return on investment to its community than any other state and territory in Australia.

The research, commissioned by the Australian Library and Information Association, sought to gauge the contribution public libraries make to Australian community welfare and Australian economic activity.

Welcoming the findings, ACT Director of Libraries Vanessa Little stated "we know that our libraries contribute a significant amount to our community, and it's good to see how well we compare to other libraries from around Australia.

"In this day and age, libraries are about more than books, and they provide direct and indirect benefits to the community through the services and programs they offer.

"Libraries ACT benefits the Canberra community by facilitating social interaction, providing a sense of place and enhanced local amenity, environmental savings through the continued re-use of books, DVDs and other collections, and adding to language and computer literacy.

"We contribute to early literacy in children by providing participative programs for children younger than school age, benefiting their education long-term.

"To the broader community, Libraries ACT improves digital literacy by facilitating the smart, safe and responsible use of modern technology including assistance and training in eReaders, tablets, social media and even video conferencing, in an informal and supportive environment.

"Our libraries also deliver ongoing benefits to the community through the lifelong learning programs guest speakers, workshops and discussion groups which provide informal, flexible learning opportunities for people of all ages.

"We will continue to provide Canberra with the best library service possible, ensuring that we maintain a significant return on investment to the Canberra community."

For more information on the services offered by ACT Libraries go to

http://www.library.act.gov.au