Completely agree with that and figures for borrowing AND for visitor numbers can be found at http://www.foresthillsociety.com/2015/10...isham.html

Visitors to Forest Hill have risen by 17% in four years and book borrowing has fallen by 6%. In community libraries book borrowing has fallen by 60%-90% while visitor numbers have increased.

Forest Hill library has the same number of visitors as Sydenham and Crofton Park combined (that is true for 2010 and 2014). In 2010 Forest Hill lent the same number of books as the two libraries combines, in 2014 It lent 2.5 times as many books (despite a 6% fall at Forest Hill).

My conclusion is that community libraries can be just as good for the non-lending activities as a council managed library, but they have completely failed to run book lending services that are equivalent.