Clare kids turn the page

Clare Champion 28 January 2005

Despite concerns about competition from television and computer games, children in Clare are reading more books than ever, as loan figures from the County Library prove.

Loans of book and other materials from Clare County Library reached almost 460,000 in 2004, an increase in issues for the fifth year in succession.

It was the figure for loans of children’s books which showed the biggest increase, however, despite the concerns of parents and educators that children are watching too much TV and playing too many electronic games at the expense of reading.

Other media have capitalised on this huge interest in children’s books, with films based on the Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl series, and those of Lemony Snicket, proving big hits at the box office.

The list of the ten most popular adult fiction books loaned by Clare County Library last year is dominated by titles from Irish women authors, as has been the case for the past few years.

Newcomer Cecelia Ahern’s book PS, I Love You was the most popular adult book for 2004. Her second, Where Rainbows End, also published in 2004, is creating huge demand as well. The biggest publishing sensation of 2004, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, reached number five on the list.

“Such has been the success of this book that it is a rare occurrence when any of the 80 copies of his books in the library ever makes it back to the bookstacks before being snapped up by another borrower,” county librarian, Noel Crowley, told The Clare Champion.

With the exception of the international bestseller, The Bookseller of Kabul, books of Irish interest continue to dominate the list of the most popular non-fiction titles borrowed by adults in County Clare in 2004.

The Official Theory Test for Learner Drivers has topped the list for the third year in a row. It is also the third year that Roy Keane’s and Bill Cullen’s autobiographies have featured on the list.

“The continuing building boom is reflected by the presence of two books of house plans on the list again this year”, added Noel Crowley.

“Those with an interest in the history of County Clare are well catered for by Sean Spellissy’s A History of County Clare and The Fanore School Case by Joe Queally.”

The Guinness World Records was the most popular children’s book for the second year in a row in 2004.

“Obviously children are as fascinated as ever by competitive feats in the areas of fame, technology, war and sports and indeed almost any activity you can imagine”, explained Mr Crowley.

“It is clear that children continue to read more fiction than non-fiction books, with authors Francesca Simon, Jacqueline Wilson, and J.K. Rowling being the most read last year.”

Books in the Mary Kate and Ashley series have increased in popularity with one particular title, It’s Snow Problem by Nancy Butcher, being the fifth most issued book in 2004.

The exploits of Horrid Henry, Harry Potter and the true-to-life stories of multi-award winning author Jacqueline Wilson are consistently the most popular among Clare’s young readers.

Cirque du Freak, the very first book in a series entitled The Saga of Darren Shan, by Limerick author, Darren Shan, is in eighth place among the most borrowed children’s books of 2004.

“These statistics are consistent with the Children’s Books Ireland Favourite Author Poll which was conducted on a national level during Children’s Book Festival 2004”, said the county librarian.

The music collection at De Valera Library, Ennis grew significantly last year with an increase of 682 CDs.

There are now almost 3,000 holdings in stock, covering classical, jazz and blues, world, country, traditional and popular music.

Over 15,000 issues were made during the year, indicative of the increasing popularity of the collection.

The most borrowed album of the year was Thin Lizzy’s Wild One, which was fourth in the list in 2003.

Bob Marley’s Trenchtown Rock proved second most popular with Clare music listeners, having come first in 2003. The Foo Fighters also had two albums in the top ten.

“New entries in our top ten for 2004 were albums by The Waterboys, Madonna, Norah Jones, Jeff Buckley, Queen and Michael Jackson. The two world collections of Music from the Coffee Lands just missed out on the list of top ten”, Mr Crowley continued.

“However, it is the oldies but goodies who still dominate overall, with Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Neil Young captivating young and old alike for the second year running.”

Also showing well are U2 and Emmylou Harris with Martin Hayes, representing traditional Irish lovers. The most popular classical composer for the year was Beethoven.

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