Harry Potter top of the pile

Harry Potter’s child is leading a charmed life, rather than a cursed one, off the shelves of Porirua’s libraries.

JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, released in 2016, was the most issued book from Porirua Library in 2017.

It beat children’s book Super Rabbit, which continues the series of cheeky rabbit Simon, and ever-popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which came third.

Brian Anderson, Manager of City Libraries, said more than 40 percent of the books borrowed from the city’s libraries were children’s titles.

“It’s not surprising because it’s the demographic in Porirua – we have such a young population,” he said.

Children’s series, such as Elephant and Piggie, Tom Gates, and Treehouse were incredibly popular, but three adult titles made the top 15 books issued last year – all Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child.

Mr Anderson said 2017 had been a steady year in terms of items borrowed, with 384,239 books and

150,555 non-book items issued, which include DVDs, CDs, audio books, magazines and puzzles.

E-book issues continued to rise – 16,389 last year.

“E-books are on the up and we’re finding it’s people across all ages borrowing them. Commuters love e-books and audio books.”

Mr Anderson said having the library alongside Pātaka Museum helped increase foot traffic, and he was also pleased with how the other libraries in Porirua were faring in terms of books issued.

Another boost to Porirua’s libraries was via social media, with over 1,000 people having liked the Porirua Library Facebook page, which was proactive under the stewardship of librarian Eve Carroll, he said.

Porirua Library – by the numbers

• 31,280 – library card holders

• 384,239 – books borrowed in 2017

• 150,555 – non-book items borrowed (DVDs, CDs, audio books, magazines & puzzles)

• 16,389 – audio & e-books borrowed

• 16,245 – card holders didn’t borrow anything

• 2,243 – card holders borrowed more than 50 items.

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