The Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library has been named Britain’s most popular for the third year in a row. Latest figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy show that more than 1.5 million people visited the library in the year up to March 2009.

The figures show that the library, which is in Norwich city centre, not only attracted more visitors but that it issued more items, including books, DVDs and console games, than any other library. Norfolk County Council said the continuing popularity of the library had led to improvements to the building. Some users had claimed the ground floor felt cramped so changes have been made to create extra space to accommodate more people and room for displays and larger events such as author visits.

Jennifer Holland, Head of Norfolk County Council’s Library Service, said: “The Millennium Library has been a huge hit with the people of the city, and the wider county since it opened in 2001. To be named the most popular library for visitors and issues for the third year in a row is a fantastic achievement, not to mention very rewarding for everybody involved in running and delivering the library service in Norfolk.”

Other libraries in the county also increased in popularity and figures show an increase over the year of more than 100,000 in the number of people visiting a council-run library. The County Council has also refurbished and upgraded 24 of its libraries, including the installation of 68 new ‘next generation’ self-service machines.