Library ours
My son-in-law recently emailed me an interesting missive involving the library in Hamilton, Ont. where he and my daughter live. What he sent was an article published earlier this month in the Hamilton Spectator listing the top ten most popular holds in the Hamilton Public Library system.
The most popular hold was an unlimited pass to the Niagara Peninsula Authority NaturePlus. So popular was this pass that the 19 available passes had 582 holds, meaning that anyone who is registered as one of those holds will likely wait months before her/his turn arrives.
A similar number of holds cluttered demand for all the top five items – mostly park and conservation passes – on a list that also included the Royal Ontario Museum.
Only holds numbered six and seven were listed as actual books. They were “The Let Them Theory,” a self-help book with more than seven million copies sold, followed by “The Black Wolf,” a mystery novel.
In the number eight position is a movie, “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” starring Tom Cruise in what is described as one of the library’s most popular lending items in his last portrayal of Ethan Hunt and his death-defying stunts. I’m not sure how many there are in that series. The first was by far the best. I remember watching the second and part of the third instalment before giving up because the character and his deeds were worn out. I was certainly worn out.
Number nine on the list is “The Secret of Secrets” by Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code.” At last, an author and a book of which I am actually aware!
The final item, number ten on demand from the Hamilton library, is something I have to admit I’ve never heard of before. It’s a radon detector to tell you how much radon – an invisible gas – is in your home. You’ll want to know because, after smoking, radon is said to be one of the leading causes of lung cancer, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
As a veteran user of libraries in every city I’ve ever lived in since I was a tad, I find this ten-most-wanted list incredible. Imagine the knowledgeable library staff surrounded by thousands of eminently readable books spending their time handing out park passes and detection devices. As a reader, and a writer, all of this makes my heart sad.
It is sad indeed! Love libraries and make a point when I travel of visiting special libraries…Bodleian, of course, a real favorite! My single Christmas request a couple of years back was Massimo Listri’s The World’s Most Beau tiful Libraries. Am most disappointed that Trinity College, Dublin, has ( new word meaning for me) “ decanted” its library! Hope to be going on the second part of an English trip.
Oh dear. I feel a bit responsible for this post, especially given that I commented on the limited number of books on the list. I actually think it is quite extraordinary and wonderful that the library is offering these other kinds of experiences, and that they are so in demand. There are only a limited number of these experiences, and a wide world of books at the library. As a patron of the Hamilton system, I can assure you that I have waited many months for many books, including Everett’s James, Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, and, yes, any number of Louise Penny mysteries. I am currently number 89 on 20 copies of John Irving’s new book, and number 28 on 40 copies of Adam Shoalts’s new book. If I were so inclined I would be number 170 on 40 copies of Margaret Atwood’s memoir. That there are patrons waiting when there are 20 and 40 copies of newer books suggests that eminently readable — and perhaps some less eminent and some unreadable — books are still keeping our librarians busy, as are all of the other services that our libraries now offer. Incidentally, 11 of the 21 copies of Susan Orlean’s 2018 The Library Book are available in the Hamilton system — a wonderful meditation on the nature of the modern library. Mind you, I don’t need to put it on hold — I have a copy given to me by…Rod McQueen.