Free Books
Library patrons take advantage of programs, servicesBy WAYNE TOWNER, wtowner@newsandsentinel.com
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PARKERSBURG - While the number of books being checked out at the Parkersburg/Wood County Library has remained steady for the past few years, officials are seeing a lot more people coming into the library to take advantage of its programs, services and materials.
As for the most popular books, library director Brian Raitz said fiction remains the most popular genre with many of the same authors as recent years.
"Fiction is really popular. Your bestseller titles, of course, move quite well," Raitz said, citing authors like James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Patricia Cornwell and Nora Roberts.
Raitz said general circulation figures for materials being checked out have remained steady in recent years, but physical traffic in the library has grown greatly, with people coming in to use computers and for other programs and services.
"Five years ago, we could handle it with one person at the front desk just about any time. Nowadays, there's times when we have to have two or three people at the front desk because people are lining up. Thursdays here are just crazy, because it's 'fine free Thursday,'" he said.
"Fiction has been growing and growing and growing here at the library," Raitz said of the most popular books, with the library is seen by many as an alternative to buying more expensive books, even if it means longer waits.
The library receives books at the same time as book stores, Raitz said. Those providing the books generally have a good idea what will be good sellers, often based on past performance, and the library has a standing order to receive multiple copies of such books to reduce wait time for library patrons, he said.
"James Patterson, Dan Brown, those type of authors, we get nine or ten copies," Raitz said. "When you get down farther in the mid-list, we get two or three copies. People like Robert Parker, we get four or five copies."
Raitz said all of the copies are not kept at the central library, but are divided among the branches which include Williamstown, south Parkersburg and Waverly.
Raitz has seen changes in public interest over the last few years. He has been buying more paperback romances for circulation at the library, with the biggest growth being seen in the paranormal romance sub-genre, "anything with vampires, werewolves and stuff like that," he said.
"There's a lot of people out there that do enjoy them," he said.
Christian fiction has also been growing in popularity in recent years and Raitz said the library has worked to increase its collection in that genre.
Diane Kendall, of Parkersburg, visits the Parkersburg library about regularly, although not as often as she would like to. Her main interest is fiction, including Christian fiction and older fiction books. She doesn't generally look for the newest bestsellers.
"It's just for light reading which doesn't take up too much 'mind space,'" she said with a laugh.
Over the last five years, the library has also been increasing its collection of graphic novels, which have seen a surge in interest in both children's and adult categories. Raitz said he likes to track circulation based on age groups and gender and has found graphic novels are popular with young people but also with people - mostly men - who were born in the 1950s and 1960s.
"A lot of these people grew up reading those comic books when they were kids or they are still reading them and buying the titles," he said.
Tyler Vincent of Mineral Wells visits the library once or twice a week and his main interests are fiction and graphic novels. He is pleased with the services available at the local library.
"I think more people need to come," Vincent said.
Raitz and his staff have also built up the library's young adult fiction collection, with popular authors like Stephanie Myer and others. He said interest and quality in that genre has grown in recent years, and he's been attempting to reflect that by providing more young adults books at the library.
While many readers pull from a variety of genres for their entertainment, there are just as many who prefer to focus on one or two specific genres, from romance to mystery to science fiction. In recent years, Raitz said the library has been adding genre-specific stickers to books to make it easier for those looking for a specific type.
One of his goals is to eventually re-organize the library's entire fiction collection into genre-specific groupings.
"We have a pretty extensive collection downstairs and it's kind of big. It's difficult for people to find some of the materials they want," he said.
In the non-fiction category, Raitz said he has been seeing changes in the last five to six years, primarily due to the Internet. A decade ago, he said non-fiction books were often read for either pleasure or for research, with the reader interested in the overall story or looking for specific information. With the growth of the Internet and the various search engines available, he believes the use of non-fiction books for research has decreased but there has been an increase in pleasure reading.
Parkersburg resident Charlie Benson visits the Parkersburg library about once a week. He describes himself as an eclectic reader, although most of his interest is in non-fiction books.
"Everything from math to sailing, I've read," he said.
Benson is pleased with the services provided by the local library, especially finding and providing books from other locations that are not part of the Parkersburg's library's collection.
"I think all three times, I've gotten the title," he said of his efforts to find specific books not available in Parkersburg.
Looking ahead, Raitz said technology will continue having an impact on what the library offers. Over a year ago, he stopped purchasing video cassettes and audio cassettes due to decreasing interest and availability in those formats, focusing on CDs and DVDs.
Raitz said libraries are still waiting to see how they will be impacted by the growing advent of electronic books, which can be loaded onto computers and handheld devices for reading. The devices have been around for about a decade, but the recent advent of Amazon's Kindle device has seen a big increase in e-book usage.
