Newcastle bookworms have helped the city top the state for the number of annual library borrowings.
More than 1.5 million items were borrowed from Newcastle libraries last financial year, more than any other area in NSW and more than triple the state average of 399,017.
"If there was an Olympic medal for libraries, City of Newcastle libraries would win gold in terms of the volume of borrowings," Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
The statistics were compiled by the State Library of NSW for the 2022-23 financial year.
There were 620,984 visits to Newcastle's 11 library branches across the year - more than double the NSW average of 253,887.
The city also has the state's largest library collection of 963,793 items and ranked fifth for the number of audio and e-books borrowed.
Newcastle libraries have more than 138,000 members and hosted 1892 events in 2022-23.
One regular event member is Gemma Wolk, whose daughter Saskia attends the popular Rock n Rhyme at Wallsend Library.
"She likes to come for the music and the stories and often we'll come and borrow books or use the programs here," Ms Wolk said.
"We love it. It's a really nice activity to fill our day."
Ms Wolk said Saskia's vocabulary and language had "exploded" due to all the books she reads.
"It's wonderful," she said. "I think it's really important for her development and the benefits of a library is that you don't have to shell out the money for books and you can swap them out and as she progresses with her reading and her interests."
Cr Nelmes said the city's libraries were "community hubs", offering more than just book borrowing.
"There's a huge amount of free programming whether it be from 0-5 and Rock n Rhyme to special dementia workshops and memory rooms, as well for seniors a lot of IT or digital borrowings and educational classes," she said.
"So our library is a really a community hub and we have a great library strategy that has allowed the expansion of after hours access for library members and we can see that reflected in the stats."
