BookNet Canada Reports on the “Real Impact of #BookTok on Library Circulation”

From a BookNet Canada Blog Post:

What impact does #BookTok have on the Canadian library circulation of backlist titles? We find out in this instalment with the help of LibraryData, our national Canadian library collection and circulation analysis tool.

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One thing’s for sure — Canadian library patrons are borrowing #BookTok backlist titles. The graph below shows the aggregated library circulation for all 20 titles and series month-by-month from September 2019 to August 2022. During this time, the library loans of these trending titles and series increased by 561%.

While this is a big increase, it only tells us part of the story. Since a library’s ability to circulate titles is limited by the number of copies it has in its collection, library holds, rather than library loans, can show a clearer picture of library book borrowers’ interest in particular books. When we look at the library holds for our #BookTok trending titles over this time period, the number of holds increases exponentially, by 1,430%.

Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Reports