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Steamboat Springs library tastes lean toward the literary

Lisa Schlichtman
Cameron McVey checks out library card holder Keegan Rogan at the Bud Werner Memorial Library.
John F. Russell

Top 10 checkouts:

Top movies

  1. Jack Reacher

  2. The Internship

  3. Skyfall

  4. This is 40

  5. The Wolverine

  6. Flight

  7. Arbitrage

  8. Star Trek: Into Darkness

  9. The Lone Ranger

  10. Olympus Has Fallen

Top TV series

  1. Breaking Bad

  2. Mad Men

  3. Downton Abbey

  4. Trailer Park Boys

  5. Game of Thrones

  6. Big Bang Theory

  7. Justified

  8. Sherlock

  9. Nurse Jackie

  10. Sons of Anarchy

Top adult fiction

  1. “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd

  2. “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt

  3. “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham

  4. “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr

  5. “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty

  6. “Private L.A.” by James Patterson

  7. “China Dolls” by Lisa See

  8. “The Gods of Guilt” by Michael Connelly

  9. “Takedown Twenty” by Janet Evanovich

  10. “Station Eleven” by Emily Mandel

Top adult non-fiction

  1. “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel Brown

  2. “The Emerald Mile” by Kevin Fedarko

  3. “Killing Jesus: A History” by Bill O’Reilly

  4. “The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son” by Pat Conroy

  5. “How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain” by Gregory Berns

  6. “Kate: The Future Queen” by Katie Nicholl

  7. “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery” by Robert Kolker

  8. “Who discovered America?: The Untold History of the Peopling of the Americas” by Gavin Menzies

  9. “Year Zero: A History of 1945” by Ian Buruma

  10. “A Street Cat Named Bob and How He Saved My Life” by James Bowen

Top ebooks

  1. “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt

  2. “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn

  3. “The Divergent Series” by Veronica Roth

  4. “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green

  5. “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd

  6. “The Inferno” by Dan Brown

  7. “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn

  8. “Still Life with Bread Crumbs” by Anna Quindlen

  9. “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham

  10. “High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella” by Lee Child

These are the top 10 titles checked out in 2014 at Bud Werner Memorial Library in various categories.

— The top-circulated adult fiction title at Steamboat Springs’ Bud Werner Memorial Library in 2014 was Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Invention of Wings.”

The novel chronicles the lives of two memorable American women in a story that was inspired by abolitionist Sarah Grimke, and it also provides a glimpse into the literary likes of Steamboat readers.

“I was pretty excited about the caliber of books circulating out of the library,” Library Executive Director Chris Painter said. “I honor whatever people like to read but I was pretty excited to see this list.”



Top 10 checkouts:

Top movies

  1. Jack Reacher



  2. The Internship

  3. Skyfall

  4. This is 40

  5. The Wolverine

  6. Flight

  7. Arbitrage

  8. Star Trek: Into Darkness

  9. The Lone Ranger

  10. Olympus Has Fallen

Top TV series

  1. Breaking Bad

  2. Mad Men

  3. Downton Abbey

  4. Trailer Park Boys

  5. Game of Thrones

  6. Big Bang Theory

  7. Justified

  8. Sherlock

  9. Nurse Jackie

  10. Sons of Anarchy

Top adult fiction

  1. “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd

  2. “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt

  3. “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham

  4. “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr

  5. “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty

  6. “Private L.A.” by James Patterson

  7. “China Dolls” by Lisa See

  8. “The Gods of Guilt” by Michael Connelly

  9. “Takedown Twenty” by Janet Evanovich

  10. “Station Eleven” by Emily Mandel

Top adult non-fiction

  1. “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel Brown

  2. “The Emerald Mile” by Kevin Fedarko

  3. “Killing Jesus: A History” by Bill O’Reilly

  4. “The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son” by Pat Conroy

  5. “How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain” by Gregory Berns

  6. “Kate: The Future Queen” by Katie Nicholl

  7. “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery” by Robert Kolker

  8. “Who discovered America?: The Untold History of the Peopling of the Americas” by Gavin Menzies

  9. “Year Zero: A History of 1945” by Ian Buruma

  10. “A Street Cat Named Bob and How He Saved My Life” by James Bowen

Top ebooks

  1. “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt

  2. “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn

  3. “The Divergent Series” by Veronica Roth

  4. “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green

  5. “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd

  6. “The Inferno” by Dan Brown

  7. “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn

  8. “Still Life with Bread Crumbs” by Anna Quindlen

  9. “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham

  10. “High Heat: A Jack Reacher Novella” by Lee Child

These are the top 10 titles checked out in 2014 at Bud Werner Memorial Library in various categories.

According to 2014 circulation statistics compiled by Painter, Donna Tartt’s “Goldfinch,” was the second most popular title among library users, and “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham came in third.

Other top 10 fiction titles included: “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr, #4; “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty, #5; “Private’s L.A.” by James Patterson, #6; “China Dolls” by Lisa See, #7; “The Gods of Guilt” by Michael Connelly, #8; “Takedown Twenty” by Janet Evanovich, #9; and “Station Eleven” by Emily Mandel, #10.

Painter commented on the strong connection between the library’s most popular titles and programs sponsored by the library. Doerr and Mandel were both featured authors at the 2014 Literary Sojourn event, and See headlined one of the library’s most popular author’s talks this past year.

And with Routt County being one of the most educated counties in the state of Colorado, it is no surprise that local library users had just as many literary titles on their top 10 list as popular fiction titles.

“Educational attainment is a strong indicator of reading habits, library use and book buying,” Painter explained. “Research has shown education and library use are connected.”

When it came to adult non-fiction, “The Boys in the Boat,” by Daniel Brown was checked out more than any other book in its category by Steamboat readers. The book is a true account of the members of the 1936 U.S. men’s eight-oar rowing team and their quest for gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

“The Emerald Mile” by Kevin Fedarko was the second most checked out non-fiction title, and “Killing Jesus: A History” by Bill O’Reilly was the third.

Keeping readers happy

Making sure library card holders have access to the books they want to check out is a challenge the library staff tries to meet.

“Initially, when we purchase a book for the library, we depend on what the publishers are saying about a book and how many copies they published,” Painter said. “We try to anticipate demand, track that demand and add copies as needed.”

Demand is monitored by checking circulation lists daily and determining where additional copies are needed. The library can purchase more books or it can borrow from other libraries in the Western Slope consortium.

“Primarily, we try to acquire lots and lots of copies of very popular items to keep our wait list down,” Painter said.

When reviewing year-end circulation statistics, Painter said she was surprised that there was not more crossover and duplication between top adult fiction and non-fiction books and ebook checkouts.

“It sort of said to me that there are a fair number of crossover readers who read books in print and ebooks. It also says print book readers are very loyal to print books.”

Movies also tend to have a big impact on what people read in Painter’s opinion. She said “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn is a good example of a book’s surge in popularity after it is made into a movie.

Even though “Gone Girl” was released in hardback in 2012, it was the second most popular ebook checked out by Bud Werner Library cardholders following its film release in 2014.

“When they see a movie come out, they want to read the book,” Painter said. “My prediction is that ‘Wild’ (by Cheryl Strayed) will be among our top books next year.”

Over 300,000 items circulated

In 2014, Bud Werner Memorial Library’s 19,031 library card holders checked out 313,682 items across all formats ranging from print books to downloadable music.

Movies represent about 25 percent of what is checked out at the local library, Painter said, with adult books representing 30 percent of checkouts and kids books 20 percent. The remaining 25 percent of items circulated by the library include audio CDs, music, magazines and ebooks.

One trend that Painter is seeing occur at the library is a shift away from audio books on CD and a move to downloadable audio books.

“Physically, these are easier to use,” Painter said. “We’ve also expanded our collection, and the downloadable audio books are getting easier to use.”

Streaming or downloadable movies and music is another category of the library’s collection that is fairly new but gaining in popularity.

“I think that is probably one of the collections we’ll grow and expand,” Painter added.

To reach Lisa Schlichtman, call 970-871-4221, email lschlichtman@SteamboatToday.com or follow her on Twitter @LSchlichtman


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