January 05, 2023
In my role as a Library CEO, I spend a lot of time writing: reports, letters, promotions, and thank-you cards. So, it’s natural that by the new year my mind turns to what I’ve read and enjoyed throughout the previous year. Here at Haliburton County Public Library (HCPL), we love to review and discuss data. It tells us so much about who uses the library, what they care about, and what’s popular on our shelves. And best of all, it helps us make decisions about how we spend our book-purchasing resources in future.
If there’s a book in our catalogue that you’re interested in, you can place a ‘hold’ and reserve it with your library card. That way you’re automatically included on a waiting list to receive this title once the people ahead of you have received it, read it, and returned it. Once it’s your turn, you’ll be notified that the book is ready for pick-up. But what happens when a book becomes popular? Perhaps a great newspaper review promotes it, or the author comes to our area to speak about it. Or it becomes a bestseller and is made into a film… We’re able to use our data to gauge this popularity and make a timely decision to purchase additional copies to satisfy the demand. It may be another print copy, an eBook or an audiobook, or a large print version.
Responding to reader interest is what helps shape our collection. The purchases we make are determined by the Collection Development coordinator of course, but also recommendations from our book vendors, great reviews, and suggestions from our patrons. If there’s an item you want to borrow that isn’t available at HCPL, you can submit a material request. We have a form for this on our website at www.haliburtonlibrary.ca under the ‘Borrowing’ tab. Our staff will do their best to borrow the item from another system in Ontario or purchase the title for our own collection. You’re also able to make your request whenever you stop in at one of our branches – the only request is that we ask you to limit your recommendations to a total of five per month.
Ok, so here I am filling the page with my writing again! It’s time to get to the part I expect we’re all most interested in: What were the most popular books borrowed from HCPL throughout 2022? Thanks again to the data, we’re able to provide you with these lists:
If you’re looking for something new to read in the new year, you may want to clip these lists out and keep them handy. Thanks to all the patrons and visitors who supported their local public library in 2022. We hope you found what you were looking for or consulted one of our staff members in your search to find the right items. And most of all, happy reading this year!
By Chris Stephenson
