First Release

Year: LVIII.
Zagreb, 26 July 2021
KUL-2021-1-2

ISSN 1334-0557

LIBRARIES, 2020

Data on libraries that operated on the territory of the Republic of Croatia in 2020 were obtained by processing the administrative database of the National and University Library.

A total of 1 749 libraries were covered, which included one national library, 99 libraries at institutions of higher education, university and scientific libraries, 95 specialised libraries, 304 public libraries, 883 libraries in basic schools and 367 libraries in secondary schools.

In 2020, of the total number of libraries, 11% were autonomous, 6% were part of another library and 83% were part of another institution, enterprise or educational institution.

Increasing number of libraries with internet access

The modernisation of libraries with new media and technologies enables a direct access to all types of knowledge and information. Therefore, 87% of all libraries had an integrated reading room, 64% had a multimedia department and 87% had wireless internet equipment. The number of libraries that had wireless internet for users increased by 12% compared to 2019.

There were 4 082 persons employed in libraries, of which 84% were women. Of the total number of persons employed in libraries, 88% were professional library staff.

The most numerous members of public libraries and visitors to library events were children and youth up to 18 years of age

A total of 1 287 522 persons had a library membership in 2020, of which 68% were active users. Women accounted for 64% of the total number of public library users.

The members of libraries in basic and secondary schools accounted for 39% of all library memberships, followed by the members of public libraries with the share of 37% in the total membership. Children and youth up to 18 years of age accounted for 40% of public library memberships.

Observing the age structure of visitors to library events and workshops, 72% of visitors were under 18 years of age.

Impact of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of public institutions on the library activity

In 2020, a total of 85% library materials were used outside the library. When comparing the lending of library materials compared to 2019, a decrease of 28% is visible, which indicates that the crisis caused by the pandemic and the closure of all cultural institutions have affected the library activity as well. 

The decrease in visits to libraries was the most pronounced in physical visits, which decreased by 46% compared to 2019. The number of library events in 2020 was 57% lower and the number of visitors to library events 44% lower than in the previous year. Furthermore, the number of workshops held at libraries decreased by 38% compared to 2019.

Virtual library visits – a growing trend among users

Due to the development of digital society, there is a tendency towards virtual library visits, which were even more represented in 2020 than in the previous years and amounted to 69% of total visits, which was an increase of 10% compared to 2019.

G-1 LIBRARIES, BY TYPE, 2020

G-2 ADDITIONAL LIBRARY DEPARTMENTS AND SERVICES, 2020

1 LIBRARIES, BY TYPE, STATUS AND ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENTS, 2020

Type of library Status Additional departments and services
Total Autonomous Part of another library Part of another institution/ enterprise Reading rooms/ seats for users Multimedia departments For visually impaired Internet/ WLAN For children and youth Playrooms Library bus
Total  1 749   188   110  1 451  1 591  1 177   40  1 594  1 423   398   9
National   1   1 - -   1   1   1   1 - - -
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific   99   4 -   95   98   92   11   98 - - -
Specialised   95   1 -   94   90   55   3   92 - - -
Public   304   182   110   12   191   184   13   189   173   109   9
In basic schools   883 - -   883   855   554   7   856   883   289 -
In secondary schools   367 - -   367   356   291   5   358   367 - -

2 PROCESSED BOOK AND NON-BOOK MATERIALS, 2020 (SITUATION AS ON 31 December 2020)

Vrsta knjižnice Processed book materials, number of items Processed non-book materials, number of items
Books (volumes) Newspapers (annual files) Magazines (volumes) Manuscripts and graded papers Toys and didactic games Other book materials Digitised book materials Originally digital materials Audio-visual materials Electronic materials on removable media
Total 28 037 663  173 598 2 740 638  572 031  22 730  603 693  112 792  215 293  995 391  205 089
National 1 632 838  101 421  351 384  264 920 -  129 012  10 463  49 501  231 052  63 507
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific 5 560 243  34 191 1 149 281  294 172 -  204 070  37 751  138 839  240 894  73 619
Specialised 1 989 239  14 571 1 046 662  12 939 -  95 941  44 556  26 200  4 151  18 306
Public 11 669 502  22 056  137 100 -  18 102  123 451  20 022   753  411 526  34 475
In basic schools 4 864 034   881  26 633 -  3 746  4 573 - -  81 083  9 613
In secondary schools 2 321 807   478  29 578 -   882  46 646 - -  26 685  5 569

3 USE OF BOOK MATERIALS, 2020

Type of library Total Use outside the library Use inside the library Use outside the library, by type of material
Total lending Books and brochures Audio-visual and electronic materials, and graded papers Serial publications Other
Total 10 451 057 8 929 625 1 521 432 8 956 390 8 388 217  162 862  7 568  20 962
National  83 628  7 573  76 055  7 573  7 573 - - -
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific  448 611  288 787  159 824  288 787 - - - -
Specialised  123 472  87 994  35 478  87 994 - - - -
Public 7 267 368 6 447 498  819 870 6 470 452 6 307 781  148 153  7 568  6 950
In basic schools 2 088 945 1 731 411  357 534 1 735 158 1 712 838  12 209 -  10 111
In secondary schools  439 033  366 362  72 671  366 426  360 025  2 500 -  3 901

G-3 USE OF BOOK MATERIALS, 2020, BY TYPE OF LIBRARY

G-3 USE OF BOOK MATERIALS, 2020, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY

4 INTERLIBRARY LOANS, 2020

Type of library1) Interlibrary loans Requests for electronic delivery of documents
Total Received requests Submitted requests
Total Resolved Total Resolved Total Resolved Total Resolved
Total  25 979  25 308  6 011  5 164  5 026  4 695  15 449  14 942
National  2 281  2 121  1 778  1 657   503   464 - -
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific  13 356  13 181  1 570  1 402  2 199  2 006  9 773  9 587
Specialised  6 980  6 784  1 044   589  1 105  1 042  5 153  4 831
Public  3 362  3 222  1 619  1 516  1 219  1 183   524   523
                 

1) In libraries in basic and secondary schools, there is no interlibrary loan, but only additions to and weeding out of book and non-book materials. Therefore, they are not included here.

5 LIBRARY USERS, BY ACTIVITY, 2020

Type of library Structure of library users
Total Pupils/students Employees External users Active users
Total  831 100  538 784  129 960  156 618  492 583
National  5 783 - - -  5 783
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific  282 065  121 455  15 526  145 084  72 511
Specialised  66 309 -  57 029  9 280  12 471
In basic schools  337 354  296 251  39 900  1 203  299 425
In secondary schools  139 634  121 078  17 505  1 051  102 438

6 PUBLIC LIBRARY USERS, BY SEX, AGE AND ACTIVITY, 2020

Type of library Total Male Female Members, by age groups Active users New users
14 and under 15 – 17 18 − 64 65 and over
Public libraries  456 422  162 585  293 837  147 052  35 452  232 427  42 064  385 789  54 132

G-4 STRUCTURE OF LIBRARY USERS, BY SEX, 2020

G-5 LIBRARY USERS, BY ACTIVITY, 2020

G-6 PUBLIC LIBRARY USERS, BY AGE GROUPS, 2020

7 VISITS TO LIBRARIES AND ATTENDANCE OF LIBRARY EVENTS, 2020

Type of library Visits to libraries and attendance of library events
Visits to libraries Library events Workshops
Total Physical Virtual Number of library events Attendance of library events Number Attendance
Total Of that children and youth Total Of that children and youth
Total 29 784 139 9 327 099 20 462 608  30 108  24 376  895 745  649 168  17 239  299 452
National 2 587 614  63 058 2 524 556   29 -  2 600 -   12   115
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific 5 090 820  985 526 4 105 874   102 -  4 743 -   244  4 326
Specialised 1 987 806  63 446 1 924 498   123 -  6 905 -   116   922
Public 15 817 865 4 911 893 10 905 972  16 709  11 231  528 181  295 852  1 416  37 798
In basic schools 3 568 124 2 733 995  838 979  11 143  11 143  284 769  284 769  13 009  205 989
In secondary schools  731 910  569 181  162 729  2 002  2 002  68 547  68 547  2 442  50 302

G-7 VISITS TO LIBRARIES, 2020

G-8 ATTENDANCE OF LIBRARY EVENTS, 2020

8 LIBRARY EMPLOYEES, 2020 (SITUATION AS ON 31 DECEMBER 2020)

Type of library Employees Professional staff Other staff
Total Male Female Total Library advisors Senior librarians Graduate librarians Librarians Assistant librarians Students and other library staff
Total  4 082   640  3 442  3 667   58   120  2 399   223   611   256   415
National   300   103   197   264   24   17   71   14   60   78   36
At institutions of higher education, university and scientific   511   116   395   447   15   45   195   26   90   76   64
Specialised   191   34   157   160   8   19   95   15   19   4   31
Public  1 740   265  1 475  1 456   11   35   777   135   437   61   284
In basic schools   929   77   852   929 - -   887   16   3   23 -
In secondary schools   411   45   366   411 -   4   374   17   2   14 -

G-9 LIBRARY EMPLOYEES, 2020 (SITUATION AS ON 31 DECEMBER 2020) BY SEX

G-9 LIBRARY EMPLOYEES, 2020 (SITUATION AS ON 31 DECEMBER 2020) BY PROFESSIONAL TITLE

9 ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY MATERIALS, 2020

    National library Libraries at institutions of higher education, university and scientific Specialised libraries Public libraries Libraries in basic schools Libraries in secondary schools
Books (number of volumes) Total  15 834  65 098  17 824  440 571  48 521  22 572
  Purchase   309  16 819  6 875  193 883  32 255  13 955
  Mandatory items  12 725  26 262 -  5 746 - -
  Donation  2 547  21 627  7 948  120 227  16 038  8 434
  Replacement   253   390  3 001  6 234   227   183
  Purchase by the Ministry of Culture - - -  87 975 - -
  Other - - -  26 506 - -
Magazines (number of volumes) Total  10 387  13 197  3 388  4 014  1 508   689
  Purchase   28  2 993   734   948  1 193   506
  Mandatory item  9 398  7 904 -  1 029 - -
  Donation   711   994   750  1 532   315   183
  Replacement   250  1 306  1 904   2 - -
  Purchase by the Ministry of Culture - - -   26 - -
  Other - - -   477 - -
Newspapers (number of titles) Total   205   505   65   804   160   55
  Purchase -   74   29   184   156   45
  Mandatory item   205   395 -   277 - -
  Donation -   27   20   310   4   10
  Replacement -   9   7 - - -
  Other - - -   33 - -
Manuscripts and graded papers Total   706  12 245   227 - - -
  Purchase -  1 438   180 - - -
  Mandatory item - - - - - -
  Donation   706  10 716   47 - - -
  Replacement -   91 - - - -
Other book materials Total  1 114  2 670   124  6 059   237   646
  Purchase -   660   77  2 451   172   518
  Mandatory item  1 114   837 -  1 466 - -
  Donation -  1 173   47  1 804   64   128
  Replacement - - - -   1 -
  Purchase by the Ministry of Culture - - -   28 - -
  Other - - -   310 - -
Audio-visual materials Total  1 245  1 935   490  12 528  1 203   328
  Purchase   4   122   403  9 294   687   296
  Mandatory item  1 018  1 583 -   285 - -
  Donation   218   224   57  1 617   516   32
  Replacement   5   6   30 - - -
  Purchase by the Ministry of Culture - - -   356 - --
  Other - - -   976 - -
Electronic materials on removable media Total   510  2 175   307  2 861   181   225
  Purchase -   84   302  1 127   159   183
  Mandatory item   504   202 -   33 - -
  Donation   1  1 832   3   867   22   42
  Replacement   5   57   2 - - -
  Purchase by the Ministry of Culture - - -   19 - -
  Other - - -   815 - -
Toys and didactic games Total - - -  1 255   702   41
  Purchase - - -   861   531   35
  Donation - - -   197   168   6
  Replacement - - - -   3 -
  Other - - -   197 - -
Digitised materials Total  1 563  3 570  3 668  2 635 - -
  Inside the library  1 563   869  2 484   360 - -
  Outside the library -  2 701  1 184  2 275 - -
Originally digital materials Total  31 265  150 692  5 648  9 267 - -
  E-books  2 421  52 440  1 500  8 982 - -
  E-magazines  1 118  67 699  2 889   285 - -
  E-graded papers  26 794  24 604   344 - - -
  Other e-documents   932  5 949   915 - - -

G-10 ADDITIONS TO BOOK AND DIGITAL MATERIALS, 2020 – TOTAL

G-11 ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY MATERRIALS, PROPORTION OF PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL MATERIALS, 2020 - MAGAZINES

G-11 ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY MATERRIALS, PROPORTION OF PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL MATERIALS, 2020 - BOOKS

G-12 TOTAL ACQUISITION OF BOOK MATERIALS, 2020

10 LIBRARY REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, 2020

    National library Libraries at institutions of higher education, university and scientific1) Specialised libraries2) Public libraries Libraries in basic schools Libraries in secondary schools
Expenditures Total 126 132 414,00 73 665 646,50 28 061 293,50 306 857 403,70 107 200 629,50 48 912 441,00
  Acquisition of book materials 3 068 601,00 9 386 235,80 3 638 670,80 33 172 378,20 6 544 397,00 2 976 051,00
  Education of library staff  121 382,00  69 849,80  41 280,40  369 494,00  97 498,30  43 998,00
  Expenses of emloyees' gross earnings 38 937 387,00 56 778 110,30 22 345 922,70 214 090 924,40 98 685 926,00 44 995 198,00
  Other expenses 84 005 044,00 7 431 450,60 2 035 419,60 59 224 607,10 1 872 808,20  897 194,00
Revenues Total 122 715 644,00 24 047 114,80 - 318 784 284,50 119 663 499,00 49 943 396,40
  Revenues from the budget/parent institution3) 85 734 141,00 19 494 366,80 - 258 885 618,50 110 886 546,00 46 223 848,40
  Own revenues 32 734 111,00 1 825 973,40 - 18 640 674,00 1 594 177,30  548 528,40
  Other sources of revenues 1 178 791,00 2 726 774,60 - 6 724 158,90  482 074,30  175 043,60
  Revenues for acquisition of materials 3 068 601,00 - - 34 533 833,10 6 700 701,40 2 995 976,00

1) As regards libraries at institutions of higher education, university and scientific libraries, the revenue of autonomous libraries is presented as own revenue and as revenue from other sources, while the revenue of libraries that are part of institutions of higher education or universities is presented as the revenue of the parent institution.
2) Specialised libraries have no revenue data, but only expenditure data. The revenue of specialised libraries is a part of the total revenue of the parent institution, of which the library is a part, so it is not presented separately.
3) The revenues covered by this First Release refer to direct library revenues from all levels of the budget of the Republic of Croatia (central, government and local bodies), revenues for the acquisition of materials, own revenues and other sources of revenues.

G-13 EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES, BY TYPE OF LIBRARIES, 2020

 

1) Specialised libraries have no revenue data, but only expenditure data. The revenue of specialised libraries is a part of the total revenue of the parent institution, of which the library is a part, so it is not presented separately.

 

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Sources and methods of data collection

Data on libraries are the result of processing statistical data from the administrative database of the National and University Library (NSK). Pursuant to Article 6, paragraph 3 of the Library and Library Activity Act (NN, Nos 17/19 and 98/19), libraries are obliged to collect statistical data on their operations and enter them into NSK’s system of unique electronic collection of statistical data on library operations in accordance with the standards referred to in Article 12, paragraph 2 of the aforementioned Act.

The collection of data from administrative sources is in line with the recommendations from the European Statistics Code of Practice relating to the use of administrative and other data whenever possible in order to reduce the burden on reporting units and to reduce the costs of collecting, processing and publishing statistical data.

Coverage and comparability

The statistical survey covers all libraries that existed on the territory of the Republic of Croatia on 31 December 2020. Data are comparable to those from previous years.

Definitions and explanations

Library is a legal entity that performs the library activity in accordance with the provisions of the Library and Library Activity Act.

According to the purpose and library contents, libraries are categorised as follows: national library, libraries at institutions of higher education, university and scientific libraries, specialised libraries, public libraries and school libraries.

Specialised (professional) library is a library that covers one discipline or a particular area of knowledge. The name “specialised library” is sometimes used to indicate a library intended primarily for a special category of users (e.g. patients) or focused on a particular form of documents (e.g. music, sound and video library, photograph library, cinematic arts library). It may be public if the founder is the Republic of Croatia or a legal entity predominantly owned by the Republic of Croatia, or private if the founder is another legal entity or natural person.

Administrative unit is a library or a group of libraries that operate under a single library administration. An administrative unit may consist of a central library and its branches.

Autonomous library is an independent public institution, that is, a registered legal entity, which performs the library activity in accordance with the Library and Library Activity Act.

Library that is a part of another library is an organisational unit of an institution or another legal entity that performs the library activity in accordance with the Library and Library Activity Act.

Library branch is an organisational part of the administrative unit of a library situated on a separate location, which provides services to users.

Library bus is a mobile library department, that is, a specially equipped vehicle for delivering library materials and providing services directly to users.

User area (net user area) is usable area for user services. It includes area for reading, learning (individually or in groups), lending, providing instruction, information and other services, areas where users use the library independently (borrowing and returning materials, automatic recording of book returns and lending), as well as areas for recreation and communication/rest and socialising, multipurpose halls, rooms for people who have suddenly fallen ill, the entrance hall, and areas with open access materials that are integral parts of user services.

Seats for users are seating places for users (excluding seating places for rest). 

Library materials consist of each textual, visual and audio document, on easily transferable material or in electronically readable form, of informational, artistic, scientific or professional content, produced in several copies and intended for the public, including manuscripts. Games, toys, etc. are also considered library materials if they are part of the library fund.

Book materials are physical library materials that are not in digital form. They include books, serial publications, manuscripts, graded papers, brochures, didactic games and other book materials (maps, photographs, art reproductions, etc.)

Fund includes overall library materials in all formats.

Book is a non-periodic printed publication of at least 49 pages, not including cover pages.

Brochure is a non-periodic printed publication of at least five and no more than 48 pages, not including cover pages.

Magazine is a periodic publication in several volumes whose publication is not limited in time, that is, which is established with the intention of being published in an unlimited number of volumes. It is published at more or less regular intervals.

Volume is a physical unit of any printed or manuscript work contained in one binding.

Newspaper is a serial material unit that is published at frequent intervals, usually daily, weekly or semi-weekly, which reports on current events and topics of public interest.

Manuscripts are original handwritten or typewritten materials.

Graded papers are papers that are required for completing a study and acquiring a certain academic title or degree of tertiary education. In the Republic of Croatia, they include a doctoral thesis or dissertation (at the end of postgraduate university study), graduate thesis (at the end of graduate and integrated graduate and undergraduate university study) and final thesis (at the end of all other studies, but often means the final thesis of undergraduate study).

Digitised materials are copies of the originals made by the process of digitisation, that is, conversion into digital form. Different forms can be digitised, such as text, audio, video materials, etc.

Digitised materials in originally digital form are materials that were originally created in digital form, such as e-books, e-magazines, e-newspapers, and other digital documents processed and stored in the repository of an institution.

Audio-visual materials are a type of non-book materials that can only be used with a certain device, such as a projector, reader, magnifier, etc. Audio-visual materials include films (video cassettes, boxes, reels and loops), microforms (microfilms, microfiche), video recordings (videotapes, videocassettes, video boxes and video discs), visual projections (filmstrips, slides, transparencies, stereographs and microscopic preparations) and sound recordings (gramophone records, compact discs, audiotapes, audiocassettes and loudspeakers).

Electronic collection includes sources in electronic form as part of the library collection, which are originally digital or have been digitised.

Electronic book is one or several computer files of limited content, which are publicly available online (online book) or in physical form (on CD ROM and DVD).

Other book materials are all materials other than books, periodicals, manuscripts, microfilms and audio-visual materials. This includes materials such as maps, charts, art reproductions, photographs, technical drawings, toys, multimedia, etc.

Additions include documents or material units that are added to the collection in the reporting period.

Library user (library member) is any person registered with the library as a user of its materials or services in the reporting year.

Active user is a library member (registered user) who visited or used the library or its services in the reporting year. The use may also include the use of electronic services inside or outside the library.

Visit is the act of entering the library premises or accessing the library website in order to use one of the services provided by the library.

Physical visit is the act of entering the library premises in order to use one of the services provided by the library.

Virtual visit is an individual external virtual visit to the library website and catalogue.

User education includes education programmes with an elaborate lecture plan for the acquisition of knowledge and skills for the use of the library and other information and technical services. It may include a guided tour of the library, as well as lessons on information technology and online services with educational content.

Workshop is an activity organised by an expert employee of the library for users. User education is defined as a programme with a special lecture plan aimed at teaching users how to use the library and other information and technical services. It also includes a guided tour of the library, as well as lessons on information technology and online services with educational content. Educations within the project are included only if the project is intended for library users.

Library events are activities organised for users for literary, cultural or social purposes, such as visits by authors, reading groups, literary meetings and exhibitions.

Interlibrary loan is a loan of documents in the material form (books) or delivery of documents as copies from one library to another that is not under the same management. It also covers electronically delivered documents.

Library advisor is a person who has at least five years of work experience in the library profession after acquiring the title of a senior librarian and who has expert knowledge due to which he/she has acquired at least 500 points in accordance with the "Criteria for Assessing Professional Competence".

Senior librarian is a person who has passed the qualifying exam for a graduate librarian, at least five years of work experience in the profession after passing the qualifying exam for a graduate librarian and expert knowledge due to which he/she has acquired at least 400 points in accordance with the "Criteria for Assessing Professional competence".

Graduate librarian is a person who has completed an undergraduate and graduate university study in the field of information and communication sciences with at least 60 ECTS credits from the librarianship programme, or a librarianship study by which a university degree was obtained in accordance with the regulations that had been in force before the Act on Scientific Activity and Higher Education was in force, or who has completed another study by which a university degree was obtained in accordance with the regulations that had been in force before the aforementioned Act was in force, with the obligation to acquire 60 ECTS credits from the librarianship programme within three years from the day of employment and to pass the qualifying exam for a graduate librarian.

Librarian is a person who has completed an undergraduate university study in the field of information and communication sciences with at least 30 ECTS credits from the basic librarianship courses, or another study by which a non-university college degree was obtained in accordance with the regulations that had been in force before the Act on Scientific Activity and Higher Education was in force, with the obligation to acquire at least 30 ECTS credits from the basic librarianship courses within three years from the day of employment and to pass the qualifying exam for a librarian.

Assistant librarian is a person who has completed a four-year secondary school and has passed the qualifying exam for an assistant librarian.

Other library staff consists of all library employees who do not have a professional library title.

Students are university students who work part-time in libraries or who perform practice in libraries as part of certain courses.

Library revenues are the financial resources provided for the regular activity of the library.

Own revenue is the revenue generated by the library. It refers to revenues from the provision of services and/or delivery of goods on the market, such as the sale of own publications or renting premises, revenues from the main activity of the library, such as revenue from membership fees and late fees, revenue from property (interest) and revenue from aids and donations.

Library expenditure is the expenditure incurred by managing the library. It includes the purchase of book materials, employees’ gross earnings, education of library staff and other library expenditures.

 

Abbreviations

CD ROM compact disc read-only memory
COVID-19 COrona VIrus Disease-19
DVD digital versatile disc
ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
NN Narodne novine, official gazette of the Republic of Croatia
WLAN  wireless local area network
'000 thousand

Symbols

- no occurrence

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80.
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Persons responsible:
Dubravka Rogić Hadžalić, Director of Demographic and Social Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Director General

Prepared by:
Marija Gojević and Gordana Bralić


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