Harry Potter book the most borrowed from North libraries

Feb 6 2009 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

A HARRY Potter book was the most borrowed work from libraries in the North East last year, according to new statistics released yesterday.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling, proved most popular with the region’s borrowers between July 2007 and June last year.

Data released yesterday by the Public Lending Right (PLR) showed the top 10 most borrowed books in the region, with children’s books featuring strongly. Spot, the ever-popular dog, was prominent in the list with two titles by his creator Eric Hill in the top 10.

Sagas and romances by Emma Blair, Josephine Cox and Danielle Steel were also favourites.

David Fay, libraries manager for Newcastle City Council, said a rise in library members across the region had contributed to a more stylistically varied list. “I’m not surprised that JK Rowling is up there – it shows a rise in the number of young people joining libraries,” he said.

“We’ve had a 43% increase in new members last year and we’ve had three new libraries open.

“I think with those new libraries and the new members, you can see in the list that we have a more diverse customer base.”

Jim Parker, registrar of PLR, said: “It’s actually a very interesting list. Traditionally, up until about five or six years ago it was always Catherine Cookson who topped the list.

“Now it’s a really broad selection – there’s a really good mixture of styles and some children’s books in there too.

“Josephine Cox harks back to the Catherine Cookson days so there are still people reading novels with that strong sense of place.

“The fact that there is such a good balance says a lot about the libraries up here.”