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'The Help' is most borrowed library book 04.11.13

AMERICAN novel 'The Help' was the most borrowed book of adult fiction at Irish libraries last year, new figures show.
Kathryn Stockett's story about African-American maids working in white households in Mississippi during the 1960s was the most popular choice for grown-ups in 2012 at the country's 336 public libraries including those in Co Donegal. John Grisham's legal thriller 'The Litigators' was the second most borrowed book of adult fiction.
Meanwhile, Maeve Binchy's final novel, 'Minding Frankie', was fourth favourite among library users last year while the late writer was also the 25th most borrowed author overall in Ireland.
'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' by Jeff Kinney topped the children's most borrowed list and was also the most borrowed title overall at Irish libraries last year, according to official figures from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA).
There were some 16.4 million visits to Irish libraries last year resulting in more than 19 million loans of books and other materials.
The LGMA revealed that children's books now account for a whopping 46 per cent of all books borrowed from Irish libraries.
Roderick Hunt, author of over 300 titles in the Oxford Reading Tree series, was the most popular children’s author overall with his books loaned 155,000 times last year.
"Classic stories continue to delight today’s children with stars such as Enid Blyton, Roger Hargreaves and Roald Dahl in the top ten alongside Daisy Meadows, Francesca Simon, and Jacqueline Wilson," said the agency.
The most popular non-fiction books in 2012 were the Guinness World Records 2011 and the Official Driver Theory Test.
The new figures also show that a total of almost €222,000 was paid out to 4,685 home-grown and international authors in respect of their library loans. Nineteen writers received the maximum €1,000 payment, the agency revealed.
Meanwhile, the LGMA said the success of the ‘Dublin: One City, One Book’ initiative was reflected in James Joyce's 'Dubliners' becoming the seventh most borrowed adult fiction title last year. For the third successive year, US crime writer James Patterson was the most borrowed adult fiction author overall with his books checked out almost 71,000 times.
Creator of the Jack Reacher series, Lee Child, was the second most-borrowed adult fiction author with almost 50,000 loans.
"The 2012 Jack Reacher film with actor Tom Cruise in the lead role has certainly helped increase loan figures," noted the LGMA.
It added that Irish writers and illustrators are also attracting lots of readers, with 12 featuring in the top 100.
Judi Curtin was the most borrowed Irish author in 2012 followed by Martin Waddell and Maeve Binchy. Alan Early’s Viking adventure ‘Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent’ was the most popular Irish fiction title. The list was compiled by the libraries development unit of the LGMA with statistics from the Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) scheme.

Most Borrowed Adult Fiction Titles 2012
1 Kathryn Stockett: ‘The Help’
2 John Grisham: ‘The Litigators’
3 Julian Barnes: The Sense of an Ending’
4 Maeve Binchy: ‘Minding Frankie’
5 Jon McGregor: ‘Even the Dogs’
6 Stieg Larsson: ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
7 James Joyce: ‘Dubliners’
8 Sebastian Barry: ‘On Canaan’s Side’
9 Jo Nesbo: ‘Headhunters’
10 Lee Child: ‘The Affair’

Most Borrowed Children’s Fiction Titles 2012
1 Jeff Kinney: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’
2 Jeff Kinney: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth’
3 Jeff Kinney: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw’
4 Jeff Kinney: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever’
5 Jeff Kinney: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules’
6 Jeff Kinney: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days’
7 Francesca Simon: ‘Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter’
8 Alan Early: ‘Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent’
9 Suzanne Collins: ‘The Hunger Games’
10 Francesca Simon: ‘Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine’
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