At the Library 1/20/22

At the Library
By LeAnn Kunz

I have always enjoyed “top tens” and “best-ofs”.  Back in the 70s and 80s I was a devoted listener to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, the weekly countdown of the best pop songs.  David Letterman’s Top Ten List  on his late night tv show in the 80s and 90s was always hilarious.  As librarians, we are always watching what books are hot and what books are the best sellers. Statistics can be interesting and often entertaining. As we embark on a new year, I am looking back at what physical library materials were circulating the most in our community in 2021. 

In Adult Fiction the top book that circulated at the WPL, and one I could easily predict, was The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah, an epic novel about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.  It was followed by A Time For Mercy by John Grisham and Dark Sky by C.J. Box.  

In the Adult Nonfiction category the top read was A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell.  This is the amazing true story of a woman spy, Virginia Hall, during World War II.  Other interesting finishers in the top spots include Educated by Tara Westover as the most-circulated Adult Biography and Neighbors by Danielle Steel in the Adult Large Print Fiction.

When we come to teens the number one Young Adult Fiction book was The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.  That author is always requested and always off the shelves.  In Juvenile Fiction the top reads were the “oldies but goodies” this year.   The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne was first followed by two of the Harry Potters!  

Our children’s books are always the highest circulating books of all at the WPL.  In Children’s Easys the top five reads in 2021 were 1.  Princess, a book by Disney, 2.  If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff, 3.  I Really Want The Cake by Simon Philip, 4.Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner, and 5.  If You Give a Mouse a Brownie by Laura Numeroff.  It is always a pleasure to send stacks of books home with kids and they make a huge impact on our circulation statistics.

We also offer other materials besides books and our top circulating Adult Audio was The Awakening by Nora Roberts, the top Adult DVD was Captain Marvel, and the top Children’s DVD was Sing.  These top statistics do not even include the myriad of digital materials available and circulated through our Bridges collection.  

Circulations are basically the library’s currency and you, our patrons, are our consumers.  We are grateful for your patronage and we raise a toast to you with hopes for loads of circulation in 2022.  Come check something out today and remember it is all free!