Books left on shelf.

Libraries on Tyneside saw visits drop by almost 10% in the past year, according to a new survey.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) said nationally visits rose by 4.3% in 2003/04.

But in Newcastle visitor numbers dipped by a total of 9.8%, although they recruited more than 20% in new borrowers.

Bookworms in Sunderland and Durham helped the rises in library visits.

In Sunderland the figure grew by 14.7%, the second biggest rise after Middlesbrough. In Durham the rise was 5.6%.

A spokesman for the CIPFA hailed the figures as "heartening and hard evidence of the reversal in the decline of public library attendance".