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What are the most popular library book checkouts from 2024? This is a tough question to answer, in part because not every library reports on the books being checked out, some do but separate out genres and formats (i.e., they pull out mystery checkouts from overall checkouts or count digital and print separately), and because the reports on top checkouts might show up at different times at the end of one year or in the beginning of another. But as we count down to the end of 2024, what can we gather about popular library books from the year based on the information that can be surfaced?
Looking at over 40 different “top library book” checkout lists from big and small public libraries across the USA, here are some of the most popular books of the year. What makes looking at public library book popularity fun is that it is year-agonistic, meaning that books published this year might sit alongside books published several years ago. Genre books tend to see more top books lists in libraries than in other outlets who compile or write about the year’s best or top books.
There are a number of interesting trends in the most popular books. Many are titles that were highly decorated in the previous year, and as always, genre fiction tends to do a lot of circulation in public libraries. Certainly, there are some books that pop up that have had their moment on BookTok, but that showing is not as strong as in last year’s roundup of most popular books in US libraries.
White authors tend to dominate in these lists, but the lists across the 40 libraries surveyed are more varied than what bubbles up to the top. This is, of course, a result of how publishing is still a predominantly white industry, and the books that tend to get bigger publicity and marketing around them are by white authors—it’s also worth addressing here that some of the biggest genre writers are long-time writers, so hitting the top of the most-circulated list as a newer genre writer can be tough. Again: that doesn’t mean they aren’t here or don’t circulate in libraries. It means they’re not at the tippy top.
Another element to consider in looking at these lists is the role that the digital platforms for library ebooks play themselves. Some collections will simply have more copies of particular titles than others, allowing for more checkouts of said titles. Likewise, whatever books are being promoted on those digital platforms via book lists or readalike lists (aka, what to read if you liked a particular title or movie) can impact what people borrow. It was interesting looking through hundreds of the most popular titles and seeing some surprises bubble up on the “top ebook” checkout lists. As you’ll see below, though, the top checkouts in print and ebooks have been collapsed into single lists.
Whether a major metropolitan library, a midsize suburban library, or a teeny rural library, here’s what Americans were picking up across the country in 2024, based on over 40 different public library lists.
Most Popular Fiction in US Libraries in 2024
This list includes combined ebooks and print books. Some libraries create separate lists of top checkouts in each, but even in those separate lists, there’s a lot of crossover (The Women by Kristin Hannah was on both for the same library, for example). It makes sense to collapse them into a broader “fiction” category. Genre fiction lists were also collapsed into the big pool of “fiction.”
Most Popular Nonfiction in US Libraries in 2024
The same caveat for fiction applies to nonfiction. The list includes both the print and ebook top lists.
The most borrowed cookbooks don’t make as many lists as the titles above, but there are multiple entries for 5 Ingredients Mediterranean by Jamie Oliver and PlantYou Scrappy Cooking by Carleigh Bodrug.
Most Popular YA Books in US Libraries in 2024
Although the initial list of top checkouts included manga and graphic novels, none of those rose to the same level of top-of-the-top as the below titles (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba came close by landing on 4 lists). Likewise, a few libraries seemed to mingle middle grade with YA titles—Percy Jackson books are solidly middle grade fare, as is the classic Lois Lowry novel The Giver—and so I pulled those out of the titles below. I did not include the lists which only highlighted the most popular checkouts of YA books published in 2024, which must have been the only YA option in some systems since that popped up several times. (I’m assuming that the options available for pulling out this data may have been why so many middle grade titles ended up in YA, too).
Not all of the libraries who shared their top nonfiction and/or top fiction for adult audiences included a YA list.
The most popular books in US public libraries lists this year came from Anaheim Public Library (CA), Arlington Public Library (VA), Avondale Public Library (AZ), Bartlett Public Library (IL), Basehor Community Library (KS), Boston Public Library (MA), Broomfield Public Library (CO), Chattanooga Public Library (TN), Chesterfield Public Library (VA), Combined New York Public Library/Brooklyn Public Library/Queens Public Library (NY), Denver Public Library (CO), Fayetteville Free Library (NY), Englewood Public Library (NJ), Fulshear Branch Library (TX—part of the Fort Bend County Library System), Fulton County Library System (GA), Glenview Public Library (IL), Helen Plum Library (IL), Huntley Area Public Library (IL), Kansas City Public Library (MO), Los Angeles Public Library (CA), Louisville Free Public Library (KY), Manhattan-Elwood Public Library District (IL), MidPointe Public Library System (OH), Nassau Library System (NY), Natrona County Library (WY), Oscar Foss Memorial Library (NH), Park City Public Library (UT), Phoenix Public Library (AZ), Portland Public Library (ME), Princeton Public Library (NJ), San Francisco Public Library (CA), San Jose Public Library (CA), Seattle Public Library (WA), Siouxland Libraries (SD), Sno-Isle Libraries (WA), Summit County Libraries (UT), Timberland Regional Library (WA), Topeka and Shawnee County Libraries (KS), Wasatch County Library (UT), and Wilkinson Public Library (CO).
For those of you curious about popular adult books outside the US. Here’s a list from the CBC that showcases the top checkouts from Toronto Public Library, Halifax Public Library, Saskatoon Public Library, and more. You can also dig into the most popular books from Sydney, Australia’s public library.
