Dublin City Council has revealed a list of the most popular library books that have been borrowed during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Man Who Didn’t Call by Rosie Walsh tops the list for e-Books, while Bill Bryson’s Short History of Nearly Everything is top of the e-Audio category.
Though library doors are closed at the minute their virtual library services are available to users 24/7.
People throughout Ireland have been embracing these free on-line services, which are managed and supported by Dublin City Council on behalf of all the local authorities.
From 8th June DCC Libraries will offer a ‘Book Collection’ service from six branches (Cabra, Coolock, Raheny, Walkinstown, Dolphin’s Barn, Rathmines). This is a pilot project and they would hope to roll out a similar service across the city over the coming weeks.
The growth in users of in e-resources during lockdown has been tremendous. There has been a 191% increase in the use of e-Books, while the figure for e-audiobooks is 150%. Freegal, their downloads and streaming service, has seen a 78% rise in use.
‘Libraries are not bound by buildings. We are still the go-to-place, at the heart of the community: only now we are at the heart of the digital community’, said Mairéad Owens, Dublin City Librarian.
‘We know this is not an easy time for our country but as a public library service, we are proud to support our communities by making peoples stay-at-home a little easier, more entertaining, educational or simply as an escape from their day-to-day lives. We are also learning, as the public tell us what sort of services they expect. The public will define the library of tomorrow’.
Nationally, 178,397 e-Audio and 185,622 e-Books (March 1st to May 27th) have been borrowed by library users through BorrowBox, the popular e-Books and e-Audio books service.
Dublin’s most popular titles on BorrowBox from 16th March – 27th May
Adult e-Audio
- Bill Bryson, Short History of Nearly Everything
- Michelle Obama, Becoming
- Rosie Walsh, Man Who Didn’t Call
Adult e-Book
- Rosie Walsh, Man who Didn’t Call
- David Baldacci, Last Mile
- Christine Dwyer Hickey, Tatty
Young Adult e-Audio
- Holly Goldberg Sloan, Counting by 7s
- Patrick Ness, Knife of Never Letting Go
- Philip Pullman, Butterfly Tattoo
Young Adult e-Book
- Holly Black, Cruel Prince
- Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister
- Juno Dawson, Margot & Me
Junior e-Audio
- JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
- Andy Griffiths, 13-Storey Treehouse
- Tony Ross, Little Princess Treasury
Junior e-Book
- JK Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
- Andy Griffiths, 13-Storey Treehouse
- Andy Shepherd, Boy who Grew Dragons
In response to huge public demand, Dublin City Council has allocated increased expenditure to the e-Books service.
If you’re looking for more free audiobooks, here’s a selection of 13 free Irish language ones that you can check out today. Or there are also free Irish podcasts, short films, theatre productions that you can enjoy online right now too.