Children's titles dominate list of most borrowed library books for 2023

Children’s books have a virtual monopoly on the most popular titles with library goers. File photo: Peter Cavanagh

Reading has been confirmed as child’s play with 19 of the 20 most borrowed titles in public libraries last year consisting of books for younger readers.

Figures published by the Local Government Management Agency show that children’s books again dominated the list of most popular titles borrowed from Irish libraries during 2023.

Only The Coroner’s Daughter by Irish writer, Andrew Hughes, broke the stranglehold of children’s authors on the Top 20 list of borrowed library books.

The book, which was the second most-borrowed title in Ireland overall last year, tells the story of Abigail Lawless, the daughter of a Dublin coroner who pursues a dangerous investigation coinciding with the dawn of forensic science in the early 19th century.

The popularity of the novel, which was first published in 2017, among library members is linked to its selection as the One Dublin One Book title last year. The Coroner’s Daughter was also the most-borrowed adult eBook and audiobook in libraries.

Other books by Irish writers also proved popular with adult library goers last year with homegrown authors accounting for half of the top 20 list.

They included Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, which was the second most-borrowed adult book last year. The novella, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, was also the third most borrowed eBook and audiobook from libraries last year.

Other Irish authors on the list included Graham Norton for his fourth fictional novel, Forever Home as well as Jo Spain, Donal Ryan and Róisín Meaney.

Irish crime novelist, Liz Nugent, was one of only two writers to feature with two books in the top 20 list for her novels, Strange Sally Diamond and Our Little Cruelties.

The other was the US author of romantic novels and young adult fiction, Colleen Hoover, with It Ends with Us and It Starts with Us.

The top 20 list of children’s borrowed books was dominated by the best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by US author, Jeff Kinney. File picture: Filip Wollak/PA

The third most popular adult book in Irish libraries last year was the winner of the 2023 Dublin Literary Award — Marzahn, Mon Amour by German author, Katja Oskamp, which tells the story of a chiropodist based in Berlin when it was part of East Germany.

The only non-fiction title to feature in the Top 20 list was Spare — the controversial memoir by Prince Harry — which was the fifth most-borrowed adult title.

However, children’s books have a virtual monopoly on the most popular titles with library goers.

The most-borrowed book of 2023 in Irish libraries was one of the Mr Men series by author Roger Hargreaves, Mr Snow, which was first published in 1971.

However, the top 20 list of children’s borrowed books was dominated by the best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by US author, Jeff Kinney.

The rest of the list is made up of several titles in the Harry Potter series by author J K Rowling and the illustrated Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey.

The figures were released ahead of Ireland Reads Day, a national day of reading which will be held on Saturday, February 24.

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