Written by: Monika Seymour Monday, January 18, 2010
The numbers are now in and in 2009 we surpassed previous Library circulation records with a grand total of 734,617 items borrowed by members over the year. That’s a 6% overall increase from 2008, and remarkably there has been a noticeable increase in the number of books or print items borrowed, especially from the Victoria Avenue Library. More than half the print items borrowed were from the Main library and the actual numbers indicate a 12% increase in use. Who says people don’t read anymore? The DVD collection is the next most popular with patrons. We had a look at the different categories and generated some “top 10 lists”. Believe it or not, the Non Fiction title which has been borrowed more than any other this year, is “The Official Driver’s Handbook”. In fact, we currently have sixteen copies in our collection and as I write this, there are only 5 copies available on the shelves today. The most popular author with our readers for 2008 is James Patterson. A total of six of his titles are in the top ten lists, with “Run for your life” the outright favourite. Other titles are “The 8th Confession”; “Sail; a Novel”; “Sundays at Tiffany’s” and “Cross country”. Most of these titles are available in Large Print, or as CD Books or Playaways too. Patterson is certainly one of the more prolific current writers and his books are mainly mystery or thriller stories, with lots of plot and intrigue to keep those pages turning. One of his series characters, Alex Cross, is an African American police psychologist was immortalized perhaps by Morgan Freeman in the 1997 film version of “ Along came a Spider”. Magazines and periodicals are always popular, and People Weekly is by far our most borrowed, followed by Hello Canada, Rolling Stone, O – the Oprah magazine, Majesty, Taste of Home, Kitchen & Bath, and Bead style. That’s a good mix of popular culture and tradition! The Children’s Department has a slightly different demand. National Geographic kids, Chickadee, OWL, Chirp and Girls can do anything, top the list. In terms of what our young people are reading, its all about vampires these days. The media has provided lots of coverage of the latest “Twilight” movie, which is based on the book of the same name and the series written by Stephanie Meyer. Other series by Darren Shan (Cirque du Freak), Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy, and Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses with similar supernatural themes complete the list. With our very young readers and picture book lovers – Eric Carle’s “Very Hungry Caterpillar” and the titles of Robert Munsch are still the favourites, as well as newcomer “Fancy Nancy” series by Jane O’Connor. Entire seasons of popular television programs, both contemporary and “from when I was a kid” are available in our DVD collection. Series from HBO, the BBC and Australian Television are added when possible. Currently the top requested are NCIS; Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman; Dr Who; Hetty Winthrop investigates; and Grey’s Anatomy. All of these titles are available at the NiagaraFallsPublic Library. Please come into the library to browse the collections, or place holds on the items that interest you, by calling the library or using the website.
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