LIBRARY funding fell in the North-East over the last year but the region enjoyed an increase in service points, according to new research.

The North-East suffered a 13.1 per cent fall in library spending but library service points across the region increased by 1.5 per cent, according to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) annual libraries survey.

Newcastle City Library remained the region’s most visited library, with 986,860 visitors.

For Yorkshire and Humberside, the number of service points fell by 5.8 per cent and total spending fell by 4.6 per cent.