Children still turning over a new leaf

Despite the lure of iPads and Kindles, borrowing books from the library is still popular among the young, with six children’s…

Despite the lure of iPads and Kindles, borrowing books from the library is still popular among the young, with six children’s books in the top 10 most borrowed library books last year.

More than 15 million books were borrowed from the State’s 350 libraries last year, according to new figures on public lending in 2011 released by the Library Council.

Four of the top 10 most-borrowed books last year were by Jeff Kinney, including his most famous series Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Ghost Lightby Irish author Joseph O'Connor was the most borrowed book in libraries last year. The popularity of O'Connor's book was no doubt boosted in being chosen for Dublin's One City One Book campaign last year.

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The book is O’Connor’s take on the romance between actor Molly Allgood and playwright John Millington Synge.

The only non-fiction book in the top 10, which also made it to the second most borrowed overall slot, was the Official Driver Theory Testby the Road Safety Authority.

Genevieve Carbery

Genevieve Carbery

Genevieve Carbery is Deputy Head of Audience at The Irish Times