Saara Itkonen
Every new year the library puts together a “snapshot” report of our services from the year before and this year’s snapshot shows just how much our community shows they love our library by really, really using our services.
Creston Library loaned 130,591 items in 2023, up 8% over the year before. That’s a lot of reading and listening and watching and playing happening in our valley! 74% of those loans are physical materials, with 26% being digital. 46,370 visited the library in person and 19,424 visited us online through our website. We signed up 545 people for new library cards and 2,965 people attended our programs. Patrons logged onto our public computers 5,773 times for an average of 56 minutes per session!
Thank you for using your library, Creston! We feel the love.
Our library snapshot also includes the top checked out books for the year. Here are the top 5 adult and kids/teen books that our community read:
Adult Books
1. Spare by Prince Harry (Biography)
“For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.” (Penguin Random House Canada)
2. Desert Star by Michael Connelly (Fiction)
“LAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch work together to hunt the killer who is Bosch’s “white whale”—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.” (michaelconnelly.com)
3. World War in Syria: Global Conflict on Middle Eastern Battlefields by A.B.Abrams (Non-Fiction)
“World War in Syria provides a comprehensive study of the first ten years of the Syrian War, as well as an extensive background into the history of Syria’s longstanding conflict with the Western world and its regional strategic partners such as Turkey and Israel.” (Goodreads)
4. That Noodle Life by Mike Le and Stephanie Le (Non-Fiction)
“It’s a master class in noodles. There are cozy weeknight noodles, fancy date night noodles, and crazy multiple day affair noodles. There’s an entire chapter on lasagna because it might be the most ultimate noodle of them all. Basically it’s an ode to noodles and all noodle things.” (I Am a Food Blog)
5. The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves (Mystery)
“For fifty years a group of friends have been meeting regularly for reunions on Holy Island, celebrating the school trip where they met, and the friend that they lost to the rising causeway tide five years later. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in.” (anncleeves.com)
Kids/Teen Books
1. Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book Two by Stan Sakai (Young Adult Graphic Novels)
“This collection includes Usagi’s first encounters with the Lord of Owls, Inspector Ishida, and more, and is highlighted by the Eisner Award-winning Grasscutter, a grand tale assembling nearly all the series’ characters in a struggle over the grasscutting sword of Japanese legend, with the fate of the nation in the balance!” (Penguin Random House Canada)
2. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (Young Adult Graphic Novels)
“Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they’ve never met … until one day when they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised.” (aliceoseman.com)
3. Speed Lights by Cynthia Ines Mangual (Easy Reader)
“Nickelodeon’s Blaze and the Monster Machines are ready to race!” (amazon.ca)
4. Ghost Hunt! by Melissa Lagonegro (Easy Reader)
“Anna and Elsa from Disney Frozen explore a series of hidden hallways in the castle and uncover some spooky secrets” (Penguin Random House Canada)
5. Princess Charm School by Ruth Homberg (Easy Reader)
“With princesses, castles, and magical secrets, Barbie’s latest movie is sure to be a hit! This Step 2 reader is based on the direct-to-DVD release, Barbie: Princess Prep School.” (Goodreads)
Visit crestonlibrary.com for the most up-to-date listing of library events & programs.
Saara Itkonen is Library Director at the Creston Valley Public Library