Top 10 most popular library books in Nottinghamshire

The release of figures detailing the number of books borrowed from Nottinghamshire's public libraries provides a fascinating snapshot of the county's reading habits.

Paula Hawkins’s thriller The Girl on the Train was the single most borrowed title across the area – and was taken out of libraries almost 2,000 times.

The book was made into a hit film starring Emily Blunt and follows what happens when a woman sees what she thinks is a murder from the window of her train.

Close behind in second place was Roald Dahl, with The Enormous Crocodile.

In fact, Dahl dominates the top 10, with five of his titles among the favourites borrowed in 2017.

This could be attributed to celebrations in 2016 marking 100 years since the birth of the author, bringing a surge in popularity for his books.

Former Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson, best known for her tale The Gruffalo, also has four of her books featured in the list.

Both authors were features on a Summer Reading Challenge list – a national campaign that aimed to encourage youngsters to read six different books over the school holidays which would have helped boost popularity.

And although many libraries across Nottinghamshire are seeing a decline in visitors, it is not all bad news.

Some libraries are seeing a huge increase in people using their services including those in Selston where vistors have increased from 9,124 to 22,933 in just one year.

Rainworth, Ollerton and Edwinstowe libraries have all seen a huge rise in usage, figures reveal.

Gary Porter, library services manager for Inspire, which runs the facilities on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We’ve been moving away from a traditional information hub, into more of a cultural hub.”

He said more libraries are putting on events such as art workshops, exhibitions and music events – drawing in more people.

He said: “This could be why there are more visitors, because these vibrant events are taking place.

“More libraries are also being integrated into existing community hubs, for example Selston library has moved into the Tin Hat Centre, which is used by lots of people in the area.

“We are trying to bolster and reinvent the smaller libraries, by doing this and also by using volunteers who keep the libraries open longer so they can be used by more

people.”

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