New York Public Library Unveils List of Most Borrowed Books Since 1895

The Snowy Day
The Snowy Day
Amy Furr

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has revealed the list of its top ten most borrowed books since it opened in 1895.

Literary and data experts spent countless hours digging through the library’s records and catalog entries to determine which books readers loved most, according to the New York Daily News.

“And the winner, as determined by a complicated library formula more confusing than the Dewey decimal system, is ‘The Snowy Day,’ Ezra Jack Keats’ 1962 children’s classic about an African American boy playing joyfully in the snow.”

Keats’ book was checked out a total of 485,583 times in various forms, which included foreign language, e-book, and large print.

Finishing out the top ten are:

2. Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, with 469,650 checkouts

3. 1984 by George Orwell, with 441,770 checkouts

4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, with 436,016 checkouts

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, with 422,912 checkouts

6. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, with 337,948 checkouts

7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, with 316,404 checkouts

8. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, with 284,524 checkouts

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, with 231,022 checkouts

10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, with 189,550 checkouts

The list was compiled in honor of the library’s 125th anniversary, according to its website.

NYPL libraries in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, “many of which date to Andrew Carnegie’s visionary philanthropy at the turn of the 20th century,” the NYPL website reads, “are being transformed into true centers of educational innovation and service, vital community hubs that provide far more than just free books and materials.”

Sunday, the NYPL tweeted an archived photo from 1913 that showed children reading inside the library:

In December, the NYPL revealed that former first lady Michelle Obama’s autobiography, Becoming, took first place on the list of its top ten checked-out books of 2019, according to PIX 11.

“For 125 years, the library has uniquely sparked, supported, and fostered a true love of reading in the people of New York City and beyond,” said NYPL President Anthony Marx.

The library’s role, according to Marx, is to “connect people with the stories that capture their imaginations, take them places, stay with them over time, encourage them to keep turning pages, and greatly impact and shape their lives.”

“The books on this list have transcended generations and, much like the library itself, are as relevant today as they were when they first arrived,” he concluded.

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