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What the Scots Are Reading – Top 10 Books Borrowed From Scottish Libraries

Kathleen — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:28:21 +0000

I’ve recently discovered the televised Inspector Rebus series here in Western Canada on the Knowledge Network and am suitably impressed. That’s why an article on BBC regarding the most-borrowed books from Scottish libraries caught my attention - One of Ian Rankin‘s Inspector Rebus books, The Naming of the Dead tops the list.

The top ten list, released by the Public Lending Right, covers books borrowed from July 2007 to June 2008. Interestingly, American author James Patterson is very popular and holds several positions in the most borrowed list. There’s also a definite fondness for crime fiction.

The top ten Books borrowed in Scotland are:

The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin
The Overlook by Michael Connelly
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
At Risk by Patricia Cornwell
Cross by James Patterson
Judge and Jury by James Patterson & Andrew Gross
The Quickie by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
Death’s Door by Quintin Jardine
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
The 6th Target by James Patterson

The millionaire book thief

Richard Davies — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:51:06 +0000

The story of the day is from the UK’s Daily Mail….

A multi-millionaire businessman is facing jail for stealing hundreds of pages from rare ancient books worth £500,000 to store in his personal book collection. Iranian-born Farhad Hakimzadeh, 60, expertly cut the pages from treasured travel chronicles stored at the British Library in London and Oxford’s Bodleian for eight years without anyone noticing.

If you want to find out more about a book thief who simply couldn’t help himself, then read A Gentle Madness by Nicholas Basbanes.

Choreographed bookcart dancing by librarians

Richard Davies — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:28:07 +0000

The funniest thing I’ve seen this week.

A library ghost called Lola

Richard Davies — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:46:17 +0000

Haunted libraries – there’s a ghost called Lola in a Connecticut library!

Bridgeport Public Library. Some library staff members say they have encountered a ghost in the 6th or 7th floor stacks near the historical materials in this 1927 building. The entity, which they have nicknamed Lola, is said to be friendly and helps find missing items.

America’s best libraries

Richard Davies — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:45:07 +0000

The one in Seattle looks like a football stadium.

Jay Walker’s library

Richard Davies — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:15:08 +0000

Imagine having a library like this one?

Librarianz N the Hood

Richard Davies — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:04:05 +0000

Cornell Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections is going big on hip hop and rap music.

The founding materials in Cornell’s hip hop collection were the gift of collector and author Johan Kugelberg. Materials in the collection form the basis for the book Born in the Bronx: a Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop (November 2007) edited by Johan Kugelberg (author), Afrika Bambaataa (foreword), Buddy Esquire (contributor), Jeff Chang (contributor) and Joe Conzo (photographer).

I can just see the librarians dripping in bling, hanging out with some dirty-assed fly honeys, and digging Gangsta tunes from Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and 50 Cent. (You can tell I’m white, can’t you?)

Overdue for an arrest

Richard Davies — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:32:58 +0000

Wisconsin police are cracking down hard on people who don’t return their library books. Question – of all the books to not return, why hang on to two Dan Brown books?

Video games and books

Richard Davies — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:18:22 +0000

The Chicago Tribune reports on how librarians are mixing video games in with the books to sneakily encourage those teenage gamers to become interested in books. Here are a few suggestions from me….

Grand Theft Auto with American Pyscho by Bret Easton Ellis
Guitar Hero with Rock Star by Jackie Collins
Mario with The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Pacman with Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Sim City with Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Shock! Horror! Students use library!

slaming — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:41:49 +0000

Some British authors and historians have stopped complaining about the declining number of readers and the death of the book just long enough to draw a breath and start complaining about something new. The British Library has put a real cramp in their life by, and please try to contain your anger upon hearing this, allowing students to use the libraries services.

What gall!

Imagine the horror of having to queue for a service, and in England of all places. Students using libraries, I have never heard of such a preposterous notion.