Brisbane backing books as Gold Coast’s libraries shelved
Library visits in Brisbane climbed to 5.5 million visits in the past year, as the Gold Coast dealt with another library closure.
Brisbane City Council has announced that 5.5 million people visited the city’s 33 libraries and Mobile Libraries in 2025-26, more than 120,000 compared to the previous financial year.
There were more than 9.2 million loans and downloads from library resources, and use of 24/7 library lockers jumped by more than 21 percent.
Brisbane Square Library in the CBD was the city’s most-visited library at 533,012 visitors, followed by Chermside (410,514), Garden City (461,614), Sunnybank Hills (410,514) and Carindale (393,425).
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said more than five million visits across the city demonstrate how much Brisbane residents love their libraries.
“With household budgets under pressure, our libraries are helping residents save money while providing more to see and do close to home,” he said.
Meanwhile, two hours south of Brisbane, the City of Gold Coast has seen two public libraries close in recent years.
It was recently announced that Burleigh Heads Library will soon be turned into a temporary arts hub despite community backlash, and Palm Beach Library closed its doors back in 2021.
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Last year, the City of Gold Coast’s 11 libraries, seven self-serve kiosks, a mobile library and Local Studies Library were visited by 1,851,000 people.
The most visited libraries included Southport at 371,554, Robina at 268,061 and Broadbeach at 242,401.
The Burleigh Heads library had 53,485 annual visitors as one of the quietest libraries in the city.
The largest loaning library was Robina with 564,702 loans, while digital loans across the city amounted to 1,603,604.
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