Data obtained by the Courier has revealed the visitor numbers for each of the libraries in the borough.
There are now 12 council-run libraries in Calderdale: Akroyd, Beechwood Road, Brighouse, Central, Elland, Hebden Bridge, King Cross, Mixenden, Northowram, Rastrick, Sowerby Bridge, and Todmorden.
The council collects data on the number of visits each library receives each year, which is broken down into visits for both library and non-library purposes.
Non-library visits are visits to a library building for activities or services outside the “core library offer.”
This includes co-located services or events held in library spaces that are not organised or sponsored by the library.
In line with guidance, these visits are recorded separately and do not count towards library benchmarking.
The council said it measures library visits in this way to ensure accurate and comparable data, to reflect true use of library services, and to avoid inflating performance measures while still demonstrating the wider community use of library buildings.
Looking at data for each of the 12 libraries over the 2025/26 financial year, we’ve ranked the libraries in order of visits for library purposes only, starting with the most visited library.
We’ve also included the number of visits each library received compared with the previous year.
Click through the list to see how well-visited your local library was over the last year.
1. Calderdale libraries ranked by visitor numbers
Find out how many people visited your local library over the last year. Photo: RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
2. Central
Central Library in Halifax was visited 127,250 times for 'library purposes' in the 2025/26 financial year. This is down from 137,600 the previous year, although it retains the top position for most visited library. Photo: Jim Fitton
3. Elland Library
Elland Library was the third most visited library in the 2025/26 financial year, with 51,000 visits for 'library purposes.' Last year it was the sixth most visited library, with 41,650 visits. Photo: Bruce Fitzgerald
4. Todmorden Library
Todmorden Library was visited 41,700 times for 'library purposes' in the 2025/26 financial year, making it the fourth most visited library in the borough. This is down from 58,950 visits the previous year. Photo: Bruce Fitzgerald