NYPL Launches 125th Anniversary with List of the Top Checkouts of All Time; Two Special, Limited-Edition Library Cards Also Released
From NYPL:
The New York Public Library is kicking off its 125th anniversary year with the release of its top check-outs of all time, chronicling what New Yorkers have been reading for over a century. Children’s book The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, tops the list, followed by The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and 1984 by George Orwell.
The full list:
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats / 485,583 checkouts
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss / 469,650 checkouts
- 1984 by George Orwell / 441,770 checkouts
- Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak / 436,016 checkouts
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee / 422,912 checkouts
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White / 337,948 checkouts
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury / 316,404 checkouts
- How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie / 284,524 checkouts
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling / 231,022 checkouts
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle / 189,550 checkouts
The list also includes an honorable mention: children’s book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, which would have been among the system’s top checkouts if not for an odd piece of history: extremely influential New York Public Library children’s librarian Anne Carroll Moore disliked the story so much when it was published in 1947 that the Library didn’t carry it . . . until 1972.
Top 10 List: The Video
Library Cards
The Library is celebrating its top check out with two special, limited-edition cards: beginning today, a special, limited-edition Snowy Day library card is available at all 92 New York Public Library branches (the system covers the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island), and a special, limited-edition MetroCard is available at 10 stations across the five boroughs beginning this week. Both cards are available while supplies last.
Year 125
The Library’s 125th anniversary celebrations will span all of 2020, and include the reopening of the system’s completely-renovated Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, the opening of its Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures, Library participation in the Census (especially to reach hard-to-count communities), branch celebrations and a weekend festival in midtown from May 10 to 17, the release of several book lists to inspire a true love of reading, and more.
Resources
Complete List w/ Annotations: Top 10 Checkouts of All Time
News Release (Including Key Factors to Influence Whether a Book is a Top Checkout)
Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
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