Public libraries
| Periods | Operating costs and revenues Revenues Revenues from mobile services (mln euro) | Operating costs and revenues Revenues Revenues from on-charged costs On-charged costs of mobile services (mln euro) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 excl.* | . | . |
| Source: CBS. | ||
Table explanation
This table presents an overview of the number of public libraries, the number of volumes in collections, the number of volumes lent out to the public, registered users, the staff working for public libraries and their operating costs and revenues.
Data available from: 1999.
Status of the figures:
The figures for 2025 are preliminary. All other figures are final.
Changes as of 10 September 2026:
The final figures for 2024 have been published.
The preliminary figures for 2025 have been added.
Due to changes to the questionnaire, from the 2025 reporting year onwards, the items revenue from mobile services and interest received are no longer collected separately. Instead, they are included under income related to recharged costs and other income, respectively.
When will new figures be published?
Preliminary figures for 2026 will be published in September 2027, as well as the final figures for 2025.
Description topics
- Operating costs and revenues
- Operating revenues excluding withdrawals from reserves and negative balances.
Operating costs excluding transfers to reserves and positive balances.- Revenues
- Excluding withdrawals from reserves and negative balances.
- Revenues from mobile services
- Revenue from mobile libraries. As of 2025, this item is no longer published separately and has been incorporated into the item ‘revenues from on-charged costs’.
- Revenues from on-charged costs
- Revenues for services (since 2025 including mobile services) that are not amongst the core lending function of public libraries (e.g. activities, school libraries, and renting out spaces for e.g. conferences, meetings, and receptions).
Until 2004, this topic referred to revenues from provincial library centres for services rendered to associated public libraries and independent libraries.
Until 2004 the number included de revenues of provincial library centres for employed staff, who were lent out on a more or less permanent basis to other libraries.
Starting 2004 the staff that is formally employed by provincial libraries but lent out to other libraries, is regarded as staff employed by these other libraries. As a result of this, the costs of non-employed staff over 2004 are substantially lower than over 2003, as are the total costs over 2004.
At the same time revenues from on-charged costs of staff do no longer occur in the summary of operating revenues. As a result, the total revenues from on-charged costs over 2004 are substantially lower than over 2003, as are the total revenues over 2004.
Also starting 2004, there is no longer a distinction made between the different sources of revenues from on-charged costs.- On-charged costs of mobile services