MURDER and mystery were top of the charts for Cork readers this year, according to a list of the most popular library books borrowed.
The first year of the pandemic saw a record year for the service, with physical books, ebooks and audio books all hugely popular. The most popular book borrowed was Blue Moon by Lee Child, part of the Jack Reacher series.
The most popular eBook was the mystery The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley and the most popular audiobook was The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
Irish books featured high on the lists, too, with Cathy Kelly, Sally Rooney and Roisin Meaney all in the top 5s and Dr Luke O’Neill’s Never mind the b*ll*cks, here’s the science at No 4 in the audiobooks.
Shortly after the announcement of restrictions in Ireland in March 2020, the Council’s Library Service began its delivery of books to its isolating and cocooning members.
A team of five drivers took to the roads and to date over 4,000 boxes have been delivered, with this figure growing daily. Membership increased from 59,024 in 2019 to 65,356 in 2020. A total of 669,463 physical items were circulated, and 393,455 online resources were accessed.
E-audiobooks and e-books saw substantial increases in usership, with the former rising by 86.7% and the latter by 103.8%. The library has also produced a podcast for members, available on Soundcloud or at corkcoco.ie.
The Library Housebound Service is available by contacting your local library.
Cork County Council’s Community Support Helpline is also available on 1800 805 819, text 085 8709010 or email [email protected].
*****
Click here to sign up to our mailing list and get the best of West Cork delivered straight to your inbox.