The latest borrowing trends show Canberra readers are gravitating towards Australian fiction, with Sally Hepworth's Mad Mabel, Jane Harper's Last One Out and Chris Hammer's Legacy among the most borrowed books across the library network.
The results point to a strong appetite for suspense, literary fiction and stories with an Australian setting, while demand for non-fiction is being driven by politics, true crime, memoirs and local history.
Libraries ACT's digital collections also remain popular, with a number of titles appearing across both physical and electronic formats. Mad Mabel, Last One Out, The Correspondent and Wild Dark Shore all featured prominently in both print and eBook borrowing lists, highlighting readers' preference for accessing bestselling titles in multiple ways.
In non-fiction, Niki Savva's Earthquake: The Election That Shook Australia emerged as the most borrowed title, followed by Helen Garner's The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial. Readers also showed strong interest in memoirs, economics, self-development and Canberra history.
Children's collections continue to be dominated by well-known series. Dav Pilkey's Dog Man, Tui Sutherland's Wings of Fire graphic novels and Anh Do's Ninja Kid books accounted for many of the most borrowed junior titles, while picture-book favourites included The Truck Cat and several Bluey titles.
Audiobook listeners are embracing a broad mix of genres, from science fiction and contemporary fiction to nostalgic classics. Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary led audiobook borrowing, with Mad Mabel and Richard Osman's The Impossible Fortune also proving popular.
Several highly anticipated titles continue to attract significant reservation queues. Yesteryear, Whistler and Land currently have approximate wait times of up to 5 months, reflecting strong ongoing demand. Libraries ACT's responsive purchasing strategy, together with its Hot Picks collection, is helping to reduce wait times by increasing access to popular titles and acquiring additional copies where required.
The borrowing figures also highlight strong support for ACT authors, with works by Niki Savva, Chris Hammer, Robert Macklin, Jack Heath, Michael Brissenden and Sulari Gentill among the most borrowed local titles.
Most popular adult fiction books
Rank | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | Ian McEwan | |
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 |
Most popular adult non-fiction books
Rank | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | How They Get You: Sneaky Everyday Economics and Smart Ways to Hold on to Your Money | |
5 | The Man Who Planted Canberra: Charles Weston and His Three Million Trees | |
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 |
Most popular eBooks
Rank | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 |
Most popular eAudiobooks
Rank | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | Enid Blyton | |
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | Enid Blyton | |
9 | ||
10 |
Most popular junior books
Rank | Title | Authors |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 |
Most popular picture books
Rank | Title | Authors |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | Brentos | |
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 |
Most popular ACT authors
Rank | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | The Man Who Planted Canberra: Charles Weston and His Three Million Trees | |
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 |
Highest-reserved titles
Rank | Title | Approximate wait time |
|---|---|---|
1 | 5 months | |
2 | 4 months | |
3 | 5 months | |
4 | 2 months | |
5 | 3 months | |
6 | 5 months | |
7 | 3 months | |
8 | 3 months | |
9 | 4 months | |
10 | 3 months |
Libraries ACT regularly acquires additional copies of highly reserved titles and offers selected titles through its Hot Picks collection to improve availability and reduce waiting times for readers.
