1.03 Million Books Borrowed From National Library in 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- The National Library (PNM) statistics has revealed that 1.03 million books were borrowed from the library last year. PNM director-general Raslin Abu Bakar said the figure represented a 33.2 per cent increase as compared to the previous year, and was the highest number ever recorded. "In 2009, a total of 370,550 materials were borrowed and in 2010, 776,347 materials were borrowed. "The increase in these statistics proved that the reading habit among the people showed a marked improvement," he told reporters after launching World Book Day 2012 here Monday. He said the figures also indicated that novel and fiction books were the most preferred, with a total of 451,056 copies borrowed, home and family management (78,803) and management and services (59,954). -- BERNAMA