It should come as no surprise, perhaps, that the most checked out book in 2019 at the Bartholomew County Public Library was a children’s book that encouraged youngsters to turn their eyes to the stars.
There’s actually a logical reason behind that statistical result, the librarians revealed when talking about what area library patrons were checking out literally and figuratively at the library last year — whether it be an actual print book, an audiobook or Ebook or soundtracks and movies.
And while it seems there isn’t too much rhyme or reason to the top picks in books or digital offerings, the selections do offer some clues to help library personnel determine the interests local residents have and what keeps them coming back to the library for more.
The book topping the list is “Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations,” by Jacqueline Mitton. The pages in this children’s book are filled with constellations of stars inviting readers to find the animals — lions, and tigers and bears, oh my!
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Just behind that book was “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens, which in audiobook was the top checkout for adult fiction, both in books and in digital.
A self-help book by Gary John Bishop, we’ll let you look up the title as it contains a disguised expletive, was the top self-help audio book checkout out, followed by the popular e-book “Girl, Wash Your Face,” by Rachel Hollis.
Each of the librarians who build and watch over the adult, teen and children’s collections has a different way of approaching what types of materials to pursue for their local audience.
Reference Librarian Robert Mixner said he looks at several bestseller lists — Publisher’s Weekly, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and he peruses the book reviews too, to see what reaction a bestseller might be getting nationwide.
“One thing that’s important is that sometimes bestsellers don’t make great library books,” Mixner cautioned. “Sometimes, they are more of a gift book, for giving to a person, as opposed to something to be checked out at a library. Those are not likely to circulate well.”
Librarians are about circulation of materials and can usually tell what is popular, and what’s not, based on how many times it’s moving out into the community.
Christina Kelley, teen services librarian, has the smallest collection in the library, which is one of the reasons she cites for not having a young adult selection among the top checkouts.
“I have only a fraction of what they have,” she said, referring to the adult and children’s book collections.
But even with that, local teens do have their favorites.
Particularly in demand now are Cassandra Clare young adult fiction, which began in the mid-2000s with “City of Bones” and expanded with trilogies that also followed to bestseller status.
Indianapolis author John Green is extremely popular with local readers, with his works constantly in demand. Kelley noted that the teen librarians once took a picture of Green’s “The Fault is in our Stars” when it was returned to the library and actually went on a shelf, because it had been on the “hold” list and circulated so long, it was never shelved.
Mixner pointed out that it is important to remember that all the popular books have lots of copies in circulation and are also offered in many different formats, which is another way of offering library patrons options to get what they want, the way they wish to have it.
The library offers “Playaway” — pre-loaded audio books that are rapidly replacing audiobooks on CD, as technology moves away from CD players in cars or anywhere else. Playaway is also an alternative for readers who don’t have a phone to download a book or a CD player at home.
Mixner, who said he was listening to “Where the Crawdads Sing,” in audio book format, said he thinks local readers gravitated to the book because of the way its author evokes time and place.
“It’s telling a story in a time period in many ways,” he said. “Actually in two different time periods. It has the early 1950s, a time that we’ve been told the narrative that it was a wonderful time of great prosperity. But that was not the case for the main character in this book.”
Described by reviewers as a combination murder-mystery, coming-of-age narrative and a nature celebration, the author tells the story of an abandoned child in the marshlands of the North Carolina Coast.
Mixner said the main character in the book encounters a different experience than the success narrative many hear about the 1950s.
“It’s about being told one thing and experiencing another,” he said. “It’s a viewpoint through time, we think we’ve heard everything, but this is different.”
The children’s pick, a book about the stars, actually rose to the top of the book list through the children’s departments efforts to “add value” for children visiting the library.
Rachel Akemon, children’s collection development librarian, said “Zoo in the Sky” was one of two books along with “Night Sky” that were part of last summer’s reading progam, “A Universe of Stories.”
Copies of “Zoo in the Sky” were at the circulation desk, and if someone checked it out, there was a tie-in — children could take home glow in the dark stars along with the book. And it worked as far as getting that particular book circulating in the community.
The same strategy will be in play this coming summer, with a fairy-tale theme of “Imagine Your Story,” Akemon said. The book that will be in play, so to speak, with some added value for checking it out, will be “Jack in the Beanstalk,” she said, which could be accompanied by a package of seeds. Magic beans? Perhaps.
Although not at the top of the list, area kids kept six different “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books in heavy circulation in 2019, something Akemon wasn’t surprised about.
For those who aren’t familiar with these tremendously popular graphic novel books, Jeff Kinney’s series chronicles the misadventures character Greg Heffley and his attempts to become popular in middle school.
“It’s funny,” Akemon said of the series. “Even with reluctant readers, they are more likely to pick up a funny book. And it reads more like a graphic novel, so it’s a lot more accessible to most kids.”
The illustrations that break up the text are also funny, adding to its appeal, she said.
Self-help was also a big category with readers, the librarians said, and what initially might have seemed odd — that most were checked out in audio format, actually makes sense.
The simplicity and availability of an audiobook lends itself to the self-help genre, Mixner said.
For readers who don’t have a lot of time, it’s a convenient way to fit in reading between taking care of kids and the busyness of life in general, Kelley said.
Some people gravitate to the idea of having self-help advice being read to them, Akemon said.
“I know that it has been said that you tend to believe things that you hear rather than things you read and process in your mind,” she said. “For me, self-help books have a lot of affirmations, and I like to hear them.”
Among the popular self-help books were “Girl, Stop Apologizing,” by Rachel Hollis, “The Power of Vulnerability” by Brene Brown and “Emotional Intelligence” by John Baker, a book that seems to be constantly in circulation, Mixner said.
In addition to having a book read to you, some readers have narrators who are their favorites, which adds to the appeal, Kelley said. The librarians said with some books, they particularly enjoy when the author is reading the book to them.
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HARDCOVER FICTION
1. “American Dirt,” Jeanine Cummins. Flatiron
2. “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy. HarperOne
3. “Lost,” Patterson/Born. Little, Brown
4. “The Guardians,” John Grisham. Doubleday
5. “Dear Edward,” Ann Napolitano. Dial.
6. “Such a Fun Age,” Kiley Reid. Putnam
7. “The Silent Patient,” Alex Michaelides. Celadon
8. “Moral Compass,” Danielle Steel. Delacorte
9. “A Long Petal of the Sea,” Isabel Allende. Ballantine
10. “Agency,” William Gibson. Berkley
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. “A Very Stable Genius,” Rucker/Leonnig. Penguin Press
2. “Profiles in Corruption,” Peter Schweizer. Harper
3. “Leadership Strategy and Tactics,” Jocko Willink. St. Martin’s
4. “Boundless,” Ben Greenfield. Victory Belt
5. “Talking to Strangers,” Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown
6. “All Along You Were Blooming,” Morgan Harper Nichols. Zondervan
7. “The Defined Dish,” Alex Snodgrass. HMH
8. “The Values Compass,” Mandeep Rai. Simon & Schuster
9. “Tightrope,” Kristof/WuDunn. Knopf
10. “Tiny Habits,” B.J. Fogg. HMH
— By Publisher’s Weekly
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To learn more about the materials available to explore at the Bartholomew County Public Library, visit mybcpl.org.
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A compilation of the top 10 digital and physical items (books) checked out of the Bartholomew County Public Library in 2019.
Physical items
1. “Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations,” by Jacqueline Mitton.
2. “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens.
3. “Past Tense: A Jack Reacher Novel,” by Lee Child.
4. “The 18th Abduction,” by James Patterson.
5. “Wolf Pack: A Joe Pickett Novel,” by C.J. Box.
6. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown,” by Jeff Kinney.
7. “Nine Perfect Strangers,” by Liane Moriarty.
8. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck,” by Jeff Kinney.
9. “Night Sky,” by Howard Schneider.
10: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School,” by Jeff Kinney.
Digital — Overdrive
1. “Where the Crawdads Sing,” (unabridged) by Delia Owens.
2. “A Dangerous Act of Kindness,” by L.P. Fergusson.
3. “The Silent Patient,” by Alex Michaelides.
4. “The Silent Patient,” (unabridged) by Alex Michaelides.
5. “One Day in December: A Novel,” (unabridged) by Josie Silver.
6. “City of Girls: A Novel,” by Elizabeth Gilbert.
7. “Dark Sacred Night: Renee Ballard Series, Book 2,” (unabridged) by Michael Connelly.
8. “After Anna,” (unabridged) by Lisa Scottoline.
9. “Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals,” (unabridged) by Rachel Hollis.
10: “The 18th Abduction, Women’s Murder Club Series, Book 18,” by James Patterson.
Digital — Hoopla
1. “Un*****” Yourself,” by Gary John Bishop.
2. “Girl, Wash Your Face,” by Rachel Hollis.
3. “The Greatest Showman,” original motion picture sountrack.
4. “The Good Neighbor,” by Maxwell King.
5. “Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals,” by Rachel Hollis.
6. “The Great Alone,” by Kristin Hannah.
7. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” by Heather Morris.
8. “The Power of Vulnerability,” by Brene Brown.
9. “Hamilton: One Shot to Broadway,” documentary.
10: “Emotional Intelligence,” by Daniel Goleman.
Source: Bartholomew County Public Library
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