Community / Crime books top library’s most borrowed lists
CRIME writing has again proved popular with local readers, according to a list of Shetland Library’s most borrowed books last year.
Ann Cleeves’ Wild Fire was the most popular physical adult fiction book with 40 loans, while local author Marsali Taylor’s Death on a Shetland Isle was the most downloaded e-book with 45 check-outs.
E-books generally saw a “notable pick-up” in lending rates, according to library staff.
Other popular books in 2019 included Lee Child’s Past Tense, Jill Mansell’s Maybe This Time and A Small Weeping by Alex Gray.
The Shetland Fishermen Yearbook 2019, edited by Paul Riddell, was the most popular local read with 39 loans.
Other popular Shetland books included Christian Tait’s And Darkness Fell, Tom and James Morton’s Cooking on the Edge of the World and Paul Harvey’s Discover Shetland Birds.
Jeff Kinney swept the board in the junior fiction chart with this Wimpy Kid books, taking nine of the top ten places, while the top lending eMagazines were Woman’s Own, Amateur Photographer and BBC Good Food.
Library services manager Karen Fraser said the rise in popularity of eBooks stemmed from a promotion boost from staff.
“We did an intensive year’s promotion of eBooks which included many visits to schools and community groups,” she said.
“When people are encouraged to try them, they realise how simple it is. It’s not necessarily a replacement for traditional books, which are still lending very well.
“These are often loans from new customers, or extra reading – for example folk might have an audiobook ‘on the go’ on their phone for travelling. eBooks circulate faster too, as they return on time and there’s no delay getting them to the next customer.
“I’m really pleased to say that we have won a ‘Marketing Excellence’ award for our year’s promotion of eBooks from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, and the staff who led it – Kaye Riise and Louise Arcus – are attending an awards ceremony in Birmingham later this week.”
Read the full most-borrowed lists online.
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