Page-turners
Fiction, best-sellers top list of most borrowed print books at P.E.I. libraries
Literacy seems to be on the rise at P.E.I. libraries.
Whether it’s audiobooks, ebooks or old-fashioned paperbacks, there’s been an increase of literature borrowed from Island libraries from 2017 to 2018, said Beth Clinton, regional librarian at the Confederation Centre Public Library in Charlottetown.
Anecdotally speaking, Clinton has heard that while there was a bit of a dip in those looking for paperbacks and opting for digital items, print books are coming back.
“I think a lot of people tried the ebooks and they’re great. A lot of people stuck (to them), and other people just went back to the physical books,” she said, adding she personally prefers to read physical books.
“That’s basically what I grew up with and was always reading,” she said. “I also like seeing how far I am and how far I have to go – like, ‘oh this chapter only has four more pages I can do that before I go to sleep’.”
Whether readers borrowed from the public libraries or through the OverDrive system (which includes digital content such as ebooks and audiobooks and can be accessed using the Libby app), the number of print items borrowed in 2018 was 543,883 (up from 526,418 in 2017) and the number of audiobooks borrowed in 2018 was 38,407 (up from 26,979 in 2017).
Topping the list of print titles for 2018 were fiction and bestsellers, including the newest books by authors Lee Child, John Grisham, James Patterson (and Candice Fox) and Canadian author Louise Penny.
The top picks for audiobooks were a little more diverse, Clinton said.
Topping the list at number one of top audiobooks borrowed was “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr.
“He’s not a top-selling author, but I know that book was very popular,” she said.
The audiobooks list also included titles readers may know from television, such as “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty, and “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by TV’s decluttering expert, Marie Kondo.
The author of “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons” Dan Brown’s new book, “Origin”, made the Top 10 lists for both print titles and audiobooks.
Clinton said one book that didn’t make the lists of top titles borrowed but was popular with readers was Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump Whitehouse”, which topped many lists across the country.
Political books, as a rule, don’t tend to be very popular, but books about scandal are, said Clinton.
“We had a huge, huge, huge holds list for that,” she said. “When we went to buy extra copies to help with the holds, we had a hard time getting our hands on any.”
Although Clinton herself prefers to relax with a print copy, she said the OverDrive system is great because of the conveniences it offers.
“We’re now a library that’s open 24/7. You can borrow something anytime,” she said. “Of course, we’re still open for business, we’re still a place to come to spend time and browse books.”
But for those who can’t, they can always go online or call their local library to place a hold on a book.
“We’re always pleased to see people reading.”