Library reveals its borrowing secrets
As Kiwiana goes, Footrot Flats isa classic. Even so, it’s a little surprising to see Murray Ball’s Footrot Flats Collector’s Edition 2 overtake modern sensations like Fifty Shades of Grey and The Da Vinci Code to take Nelson Public Libraries’ mostever-borrowed spot.
Delving into the libraries’ computer system yields many other gems.
According to library manager Anthony Lewis, in October, Nelson library users checked out more than 62,000 books. Since the year began, one library user has borrowed 1076 books, or, three each day. The largest fine on record was $777, which one unlucky reader shelled out for 35 lost books.
The way people use their local library is fascinating, says community programmes co-ordinator Rosamund Feeny.
Librarians discover all sorts of things in books, she said.
‘‘Money that people were using as a bookmark. It’s quite common to find condoms inside books. But it’s probably more common to find suspicious stains, like Coke, or chocolate.’’
Some customers leave constructive criticism for the next reader. Feeny remembers a jotted note in a Mills & Boon romance. ‘‘They wrote, ‘there wouldn’t be a TV in those days, this book isn’t realistic.’ But another customer had responded underneath saying ‘yes there would, it wasn’t ancient times!’’’
Librarians get asked all types of questions, from reading recommendations to where to buy polenta chips in Nelson, Feeny said. In the children’s section, young readers approach staff to ask how books are mended. The library mending team has repaired 1400 books this year, Feeny said.
‘‘A lot of those are children’s books which are easy to repair, but we also had a book come in that had
‘‘If somebody wants to get all the books on something like how to make a bomb, they’re totally welcome to. It’s not our space it’s your space, we’ll never ever judge.’’
been eaten by a cow; the person said they were out reading in the paddock. It was chewed up and grass damaged, but we did manage to mend it.
‘‘We’ve had a couple that had been chewed on by dogs, including one that was called How to Train Your Puppy.’’
Librarians are there to help people access information, no matter what it is, Feeny said.
‘‘If somebody wants to get all the books on something like how to make a bomb, they’re totally welcome to. It’s not our space it’s your space, we’ll never ever judge.’’