The numbers are in the book.
The Quesnel Branch of the Cariboo Regional District Library has calculated the most popular titles of 2022 – those checked out the most times.
Circulation is a word usually reserved for the books out in public, but in a pandemic, when all the hallways and aisles are empty of people, and the stacks are never touched by readers’ eager fingers, the staff also learned how it applies to the human flow through the building. Getting to welcome the public back through the doors was part of how the popularity of 2022 was measured by those who work there.
“For the Quesnel library, 2022 felt like a steady reopening and resumption of our role as a community hub for Quesnel,” said Heather Lee, the Quesnel Area Librarian.
“While we had been open for patrons to come into the library and check out materials for several months, it was the return of in-person programming that was the highlight for both the community and library staff.”
It reminded the public that libraries are far more than a “warehouse for books” as one regional mayor once infamously concluded in the mid-20th century. A library has programs and services that stimulate local minds and economies.
“Summer 2022 was the first time in two years that we were able to have Summer Reading Club face to face in the library, whereas the previous two summers were virtual programming only,” said Lee. “Seeing children and their families back in the library, interacting and moving through the space together really energized the staff and community, and set the stage for a full return to programming for the rest of the year.”
Lee reinforced that a library is also a place of thought exchange and dialogue. The staff there are excited to get the public’s feedback on what should happen at the facility, now that the doors are fully open again.
“Now that we are into 2023, the library is moving toward an increase in events and programs, looking for ideas from the community for the types of experiences they want to have in the library, and making those ideas a reality,” she said.
Those books are certainly the central feature, though. These were the titles that went home with the most readers, this past year.
Adult Fiction
Find Me – Alafair Burke
Better Off Dead – Lee Child
The Diamon Eye – Kate Quinn
One Step Too Far – Lisa Gardner
Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone – Diana Gabaldon
Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction
Curious George’s 3-Minute Stories – H.A. Rey
Dog Man 10: Mothering Heights – Dav Pilkey
Twins – Varian Johnson
Midnight Sun – Stephenie Meyer
Your House, My House – Marianne Dubuc
DVDs
Murdoch Mysteries Season 11
Free Guy
Endeavour Season 7
Aquaman
Get Out
Read more (pun totally intended ;-P ): B.C. boosts public libraries with $8M COVID-19 recovery fund
Read more (…that’s funny…because, it’s about the library…): The Cariboo Observer has been the principal newspaper for the region since 1908
