In the annual Welsh Public Library Standards, administered by Welsh Government, Cardiff has once again performed well against a range of quality indicators and measures that assess the services provided.

Cardiff has met all 13 core entitlements of the standards in full and, of the seven quality indicators which have targets, the library service is achieving six in full and one in part.

User support and event attendance continue to be key strengths of the service and staff clearly make efforts to ensure these are inclusive for customers with a wide range of needs and interests.

The annual assessment found that Cardiff is in the top quartile of Welsh library authorities for attendance at events per capita and the total number of attendees has risen by 80% compared to 2022-23. The service is also in the top quartile for both adult and children’s issues, with adult book issues increasing by 16% and children’s issues by 5% compared to 2022-23.

Cardiff remains in the top quartile for Welsh language issues per capita.

More than 90% of customers surveyed in 2023 responded positively to each of the customer satisfaction measures while the percentage of adults who think the library has made a difference to their lives has increased since 2022-23.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lee Bridgeman, said: “I am delighted with Cardiff’s performance and pleased that the emphasis that Cardiff’s Hubs and Libraries Service places on the health of our communities is clearly recognised within the report. To hear that there has been an increase in the proportion of people who feel our library service has made a difference to their lives is fantastic.

“It’s also great to see that the book collections are as popular as ever and that our events are so well attended. The number of library members in the city increased by 5% during 2023/24 and we’re continuing to see the membership grow this year which is testament to the valuable service our teams are delivering in hubs and libraries across the city.

“I’m grateful to everyone who works in the service who has contributed to us achieving another excellent performance.”