Libraries in Cardiff

Public libraries in Cardiff are owned and operated by Cardiff Council. There are 20 public libraries in the capital of Wales, the largest of which is Cardiff Central Library. A mobile library service is also provided. In 2018/19, there were almost 91,000 Cardiff residents, around 25% of the city's population, who borrowed an item from a municipal library. Increases in visits, active borrowers and library members took place during 18/19 as the service continued to grow in popularity with Cardiff's citizens.
There are 280 computers in libraries in Cardiff due to the £70,000 of capital funding that was provided to replace and upgrade these facilities. Internet access is offered free of charge at every branch. Cultural events are regularly held at city library branches.
The first city library opened in central Cardiff in 1861, followed by the city's first branch library in Splott in 1894. The latest building to serve as Central Library opened in 2009 as part of a major reconstruction of the eastern city centre, including the St. David's 2 project.
Cathays, Canton and Whitchurch Libraries are Carnegie Libraries, built with money donated by Scottish businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

History

In 1861, a free library was set up by voluntary subscription above the St Mary Street entrance to the Royal Arcade in Cardiff. By 1862, the Public Libraries Act 1855 allowed local councils with 5,000 inhabitants or more to raise a rate of one penny in the pound to provide a public library. Cardiff was the first town in Wales to establish a public library.

Overview

Library	Items borrowed 2018-19	PCs
Canton	91,041	16
Cathays	48,160	15
Central	380,213	90
Ely	44,118	20
Fairwater	39,929	7
Grangetown	34,308	7
Llandaff North	50,502	6
Llanishen	38,111	2
Llanrumney	25,686	7
Penylan	123,839	15
Powerhouse	28,876	7
Radyr	69,314	6
Rhiwbina	118,571	4
Rhydypennau	111,944	5
Rumney	17,959	5
STAR	26,567	20
St Mellons	39,399	15
Whitchurch	64,385	11

Usage

Cardiff Central is the most used library in Cardiff. Penylan is the most used branch library in the city, whereas Rumney is the least used, according to 2018-19 usage statistics.
The city's 20 branch libraries and mobile library were visited more than 2.6 million times in 2018/19 and almost 1.4 million items were borrowed. In 2018/19 Cardiff had more than 9,400 visits to the library per 1,000 of the population. Cardiff Central Library received 638,189 visits in 2018/19, with 380,213 items borrowed.

Catalogue

Across Cardiff libraries, crime and romance are the most popular books, with James Patterson, Danielle Steel and Alexander McCall Smith among the most borrowed. More than half of the most borrowed books are aimed at youngsters. Cardiff-born Roald Dahl, Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson, Terry Deary, creator of the Horrid History series, and Enid Blyton are among those most likely to be borrowed by children and young teenagers.
The city's libraries have an important catalogue, with more than 1.6 million items in 2018/19, including 823,168 adult fiction books, 525,810 children's fiction books and 18,207 audio-visual items.

Modernisation

The library network has largely been rebranded as hubs or being made part of community centres, to aid budget cuts but some critics have stated this had led to de-professionalisation of library services.

Services

Internet access on public computers and free WiFi are offered free of charge at all branches. Different events take place at the libraries all over the year. Cardiff Hubs & Libraries service is free for all to join, with 99% of households within Cardiff being within a 2 mile radius of a hub or library. Provision is also offered through a mobile library service, housebound and prison library service.
The service actively works to remove barriers to membership for the diverse communities of Cardiff and beyond. Resources are provided in 25 languages including Welsh, European and community languages. A range of accessible formats are also provided including large print, audio books, Braille and eBooks. During 2018/19 an accessible navigation app was launched in collaboration with UCAN Go at Central Library Hub to aid those with visual impairments, mental health issues or dementia, to plan and take full advantage of the service available. Staff have undertaken relevant training, e.g. dementia friends, British Sign Language and autism awareness. Tablets are available at all hubs and libraries which facilitates access for deaf customers to a sign video app and enables direct communication to interpreters.

Central Library

Cardiff Central Library is situated in The Hayes area of the city centre of Cardiff. It opened on 14 March 2009 and was officially opened a few months later on 18 June 2009 by the Manic Street Preachers.
The building cost £13.5 million to build and construction took 98 weeks involving nearly 1,200 workers. 2000m² of glass form part of the exterior walls. The length of shelving for the books totals 3 kilometres. The library contains 55,000 sq. ft of space, 90,000 books, 10,000 of which are written in Welsh, and an additional 10,000 CDs and DVDs.
The building was specifically designed to be energy-efficient, and includes a sedum grass roof to improve insulation and reduce rainwater run-off, coloured glass panels and solar shading to prevent excessive heat gains, and a full building management system to provide climate control to individual floors. As a result of these measures the building was awarded a BREEAM rating of 'excellent'.
There are a total of six floors. The library's facilities include a customer service centre for Cardiff County Council, meeting rooms, ITC and display suites, public computers and free Wi-Fi access. The fifth floor is used as a digital zone with more than 40 PCs. On the fourth floor is the Cardiff Capital Collection with books on the history of Cardiff, the Wales Collection with books on the history of Wales, and Welsh-language publications among other non-fiction items. The third floor is dedicated to fiction, with a huge catalogue of crime, science fiction and graphic novels. The second floor is the advice hub and the first floor is dedicated to children. The ground floor is primarily dedicated to helping with registering online for Transport For Wales concessionary bus passes, with a front desk where people can get access to information and recycling bags, collect reserved books and give them back. At the lower end of the ground floor is a section for registering interest in volunteering within the library.

Branch libraries

Canton

Canton Library is situated on the busy Cowbridge Road East, near the Chapter Arts Centre in Canton, in the west of the city.
The branch is a Carnegie Library, and one of the busiest libraries in the city. In 2013 it was re-opened after a full refurbishment.
Storytimes, craft activities and an adult reading group are available at the branch.

Cathays

Cathays Branch and Heritage Library is a Carnegie building opened in 1907. It is prominently situated on a busy junction in Cathays, in the north of the city, next to Cathays Cemetery. It is a Grade 2 Listed building and contains notable architectural features. The library serves a largely student and young family population.
The library reopened on 26 July 2010 after a £1 million refurbishment, of which £300,000 was provided by the Welsh Assembly Government. The work saw the western wing by Whitchurch Road brought back into use, the roof replaced and improvements made to the outside area. Local Liberal Democrat councillors aimed to see a community room included as part of the plans for the building.
A language and play storytime sessions, as well as local councillors' surgeries are held in the library. There are 15 public PCs and a WiFi network with free Internet access available.

Ely

Ely and Caerau Community Hub was situated at the junction of Cowbridge Road West and Grand Avenue, in Ely, serving a large area in the south west of Cardiff. Ely Library underwent development in 2014, moving into the Jasmine Centre on Cowbridge Road. The library, like others in the Cardiff area became a 'hub', joining with other council services in one building. In May 2015 the pre-existing 1986 library was demolished.
The library's range included a range of fiction, non-fiction, books on CD and cassette and DVDs. The children's area had a selection of board, picture and story books, children's DVDs and talking books. Newspapers for adults and children were available to read in the library. Free Internet access was available on 16 computers, two of which were child-only computers. An adult reading group met at Ely Library. Language and play sessions, and holiday time activities were available for children.

Fairwater

Fairwater Library Hub stands on an elevated position opposite Fairwater Green in the heart of Fairwater in the western part of the city.
The library was built in 1960, and for years librarians at Fairwater Library knew various submissions for refurbishments, without success until years later. A refurbishment scheme transformed the former library on Fairwater Green into a new community hub, opening in July, 2016.
There are seven computers with free access to the Internet. Language and play sessions for pre-school children are held at the library, and a children's area is available. Local councillors hold regular surgeries at the library.