The more information we have about the reading habits and Library use of our patrons, the better we can serve them. One way to do this is to run detailed circulation reports, not just on collection areas (DVDs, teen graphic novels, picture books, for example), but on even more granular levels. However, to set this up can be time-consuming. One of the silver linings of the pandemic was that we had extra time to work on projects like assigning genre codes to each of our 18,000+ Adult Fiction records. That way, we can see what genres within this larger collection are more popular than others.
Fast forward a few years, and with some refinement, we've been able to confidently use these reports as guides in the selection process. For example, we know that Mysteries make up about 20% of our circulation, but account for roughly 23% of the titles, so we could adjust by either buying fewer Mystery titles or weeding. On the other hand, Literary Fiction is 3.75% of circulation and 3.73% of titles, so we are right on track there! Further findings:
Top Circulating Genres this Year
- Thrillers
- Mystery
- Romance
- Historical
- Fantasy
Top Authors in Thrillers
- James Patterson
- Lee Child
- David Baldacci
- Colleen Hoover
- John Grisham
Top Authors in Romance
- Colleen Hoover
- Emily Henry
- Christina Lauren
- Nora Roberts
- Tessa Bailey
Top Authors in Historical
- Kate Quinn
- Marie Benedict
- Amor Towles
- Barbara Kingsolver
- Kristin Harmel
Top Authors in Fantasy
- Brandon Sanderson
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Diana Gabaldon
- Terry Pratchett
- Neil Gaiman
Top Authors in Contemporary Fiction
- Fredrik Backman
- Shelby Van Pelt
- Jenny Jackson
- Annabel Monaghan
- Maeve Binchy
Currently, the book with the highest demand is Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Many thanks to Danielle Reynolds for spearheading this project.
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