A ground-breaking new report from a national charity has valued the support that Portsmouth’s public libraries deliver to residents as over £112,000 every year.
The report by Libraries Connected highlights how Portsmouth’s nine libraries help people’s health and wellbeing, particularly among older people.
It used official government guidance to measure the economic impact of three library activities found in Portsmouth Libraries: weekly arts and crafts sessions for over-65s, volunteering opportunities and initiatives that reduce loneliness.
Data was collected over 12 weeks in summer 2025 and using Treasury-approved methods, the team calculated the monetary value of the activities – including NHS savings, productivity gains and the personal value placed on improved wellbeing.
Key findings – Portsmouth Libraries
- Weekly arts and craft sessions for older people generate over £57,000 annually in health and wellbeing benefits.
- Volunteering in Portsmouth Libraries creates over £26,000 each year in wellbeing value, reducing isolation and boosting life satisfaction.
- Loneliness reduction activities generate over £29,000 annually in health, productivity and wellbeing value.
The researchers say these figures are conservative and the true value is likely to be much greater.
Portsmouth City Council operate the library service and Leader Cllr Steve Pitt said:
“This innovative new report calculates the real benefit and value our libraries and library services have on people’s lives.
“At a time when councils are closing libraries, in Portsmouth we continue to increase our services across our nine public libraries for families and people of all ages living here.”
The research was conducted in Portsmouth and 11 other south east library services and estimated the financial benefits to people in the region at up to £1.8m a year.
The report shows how libraries help reduce pressure on health and social care services by offering early, low-cost support in the community.
Alongside the research, Libraries Connected is publishing a toolkit to allow library services across the country to apply the methodology to their own activities.