“What is the most circulated item in the Evanston Public Library that is still in circulation today?”
I was asked that question recently. If librarians were asked such a query in the past they would probably have to find the material that most often had a “Due Date Slip” stamped attached to it.
Today, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, our job is a little easier.
I asked one of the many helpful tech people in the library to pull up a list of the numbers. Then, while I was waiting, I started to think about the different options. What would the answer be? From experience I know that only a few classics people keep checking out, over and over again, returning to long after their original publication date.
Having said that, we have a great staff of clerks here at the library. All of them are specially trained to spot any items that look the least bit damaged. It must be assumed that the “most circulated item” would have to be in poor condition, regardless of how tight the original packaging is.
Could it be a DVD then? With their shorter checkout times, some DVDs stay in circulation well past the point where you’d think they could continue playing.
But no. No, the answer was as clear as the nose of my face. Because if you want to talk about the most popular items in any library, big or small, all you have to do is go straight to the children’s room. And indeed, when I got the final list it was in the #1 slot for anyone and everyone to see:
The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV, with Stan & Jan Berenstain
Clocking in at a whopping 290 circulations (that is, it has been checked out 290 times since it was added to the system in 1984) this book bears the hallmarks of a Never Gonna Die title.
First, this particular edition is what we call “Perma-Bound.” That means that at some point in its history a librarian sent this book out to be turned into a sturdy hardcover.
Then, it is a series that many people of my own age remember with small children from their own childhood. Nostalgia goes a long way when it comes to popular picture books. And then, of course, there’s the fact that it seems like a pretty simple storyline that can’t age too terribly. We still have a television. Screen time is still meant for the kids. What don’t you like?
Except, of course, that the book has a wild date.
Let’s start the story: Mama Bear is crying that the family replaced their black and white set with a fancy color one. A premise, I would like to note, that was dated even when this book was first released in the early 1980s.
When Mom cuts off the whole family from the TV, she encourages them to read newspapers to get their news now. Later they go to the mall and Brother Bear buys himself a Rubik’s Cube. I’m not kidding about this.
All told, these days the book is probably usually checked off with another big Berenstain pile
Bear books. Still, it’s nice to see titles spreading so much. For all I mock the origins of this book, when it comes to checking out actual physical books, screens just can’t compare.
Betsy Bird is the Evanston Public Library Collection Development Manager.
Betsy Bird is the Evanston Public Library Collection Development Manager.
