Hamilton Public library breaks important record

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Published October 19, 2020 at 8:05 pm

Looks like Hamiltonians took the opportunity to catch up on some reading this year.

The Hamilton Public Library (HPL) announced on Monday (Oct. 19) that they’d reached a record-breaking one million digital book checkouts in 2020.

According to an HPL press release, Hamilton libraries are among 75 public library systems across the world that are on track to surpass one million checkouts by the end of this year.

“Hamilton is a city of readers! Hamiltonians are the reason we’ve reached this milestone – and two months earlier than expected!” said HPL’s director of collections, Lisa Weaver, in the release.

“In 2020, library members asked for more Canadian authors, Indigenous titles and diverse voices for youth and adults.”

This milestone is also representative of a trend that’s been growing in recent years: the increasing use of eBooks and eAudiobooks.

Since 2009, the release says, HPL readers have checked out more than six-million eBooks and eAudiobooks.

“This year, Hamilton read many eBooks, including the Hamilton Reads 2020 title. Hamilton also listened to eAudiobooks, and branched out across genres,” Weaver said.

“We look forward to working with OverDrive and Hamilton readers to keep Hamilton reading in 2021.”

OverDrive is a widely used digital reading platform that provides the largest catalogue of eBooks, eAudiobooks, magazines and other digital media to a network of 50,000 libraries and schools in 78 countries and growing.

So what were Hamiltonians reading this year?

Here’s a breakdown of HPL’s most in-demand titles in 2020, so far:

The Top 10 eBook titles borrowed through HPL’s digital collection in 2020:

  1. Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel by Waubgeshig Rice
  2. Becoming* by Michelle Obama
  3. Where the Crawdads Sing* by Delia Owens
  4. Nine Perfect Strangers: A Novel by Liane Moriarty
  5. Past Tense: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child
  6. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  7. The Reckoning: A Novel by John Grisham
  8. Blue Moon: Jack Reacher Series, Book 24 by Lee Child
  9. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Harry Potter Series, Book 1* by JK Rowling
  10. The Guardians: A Novel by John Grisham

The Top 10 eAudiobook titles borrowed through HPL’s digital collection in 2020:

  1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Harry Potter Series, Book 1* by JK Rowling
  2. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
  3. Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel by Waubgeshig Rice
  4. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
  5. The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
  6. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
  7. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  8. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer
  9. Where the Crawdads Sing* by Delia Owens
  10. Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
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