FIGURES released by Public Lending Rights UK reveal the most popular books among local library-goers.

The top ten most borrowed books in North Yorkshire libraries in 2014/15 were:

  1. Personal by Lee Child (781 loans)
  2. Abattoir Blues by Peter Robinson (753)
  3. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (734)
  4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (689)
  5. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (641)
  6. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer (614)
  7. Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer (612)
  8. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (610)
  9. The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (609)
  10. The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriquez (600)

 

Among the authors with most titles in the top 100 are Yorkshire-born Peter Robinson and James Patterson, each with five, and Ann Cleeves, Jo Nesbo, Michael Connelly, Robert Galbraith and Santa Montefiore, each with three.

The total number of books borrowed from North Yorkshire libraries in 2014/15 was more than 2,443,500.

County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, Executive Member for Library and Information Services, said: “Libraries in North Yorkshire offer extensive services – from public computers to meeting rooms to a wide range of digital resources – but our consultation on the future of the library service last year showed that books are still the lifeblood of libraries.

“We intend to continue to maintain our current level of investment in stock, £850,000 a year, and are pleased by the county’s healthy borrowing figures.

"While traditional loans in North Yorkshire did fall in 2014/15 by two per cent, this compares very favourably with a national average decline of 14 per cent.

“We are also investing in e-books and other electronic resources, which are increasingly popular with library users.”

In 2014/15, more than 56,500 e-books were issued. In January this year, the library service saw more people sign up as e-book users and more active users than ever before and issued the 150,000th e-book since the launch of the service in 2010.

More information about services available from North Yorkshire libraries, including the lending catalogue and e-books, can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/libraries