Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
Sharlene has the Mr Linky this week.
Here’s a shocking way to start the new year: I haven’t been to the library yet. Don’t worry, this isn’t a trend – god forbid – but I did manage my holds over the holidays so there was nothing lingering on the shelves. They are all enroute now so I’ll have lots to share next week.
Until then, I thought it would be fun to look back on some library stats for 2021:
88% of the 289 books I read last year were from the library.
Of my Top Ten Books of 2021, 9 were library loans. My lovely Slightly Foxed edition of Love and War in the Apennines was the only exception.
I borrowed 53 books via the inter-library loan system. There were only 11 requests they were not able to fill. Given how many libraries have suspended ILLs during Covid and how logistics have been challenged by horrific flooding and mud slide damage since November (for a while, all roads linking Vancouver to the rest of the mainland province/Canada were closed and you could only access the city through the US. We’re still not fully restored and won’t be for some time), this is amazing.
The library purchased 35 of the 65 books I recommended. And I haven’t given up on some of the requests made later in the year (since purchases slowed when supply chains halted). They haven’t taken up my suggestions for the British Library Women Writers titles or anything from the Furrowed Middlebrow imprint at Dean Street Press (the only mark against them) but hope survives – and it doesn’t hurt me to buy my own books every now and then. They have been adding Handheld Press books both with and without my prompting, so clearly there are great minds at work in the acquisitions team.
A very good record, I think! No wonder I love my library so much.
The Captive Reader 
It’s so lovely when they purchase requests. Your 289 is impressive—couldn’t quite squeeze in one more to round it off?😉
289 felt ridiculous enough – my goal for 2022 is to read less!
I strive for 101 and usually hit it with some extra titles due to Christmas break time off. Reading overly much is better than hardly at all😉
289! Wow!
Also, I didn’t realise that the roads to other parts of Canada were blocked…!!
Yep. The perils of being surrounded by ocean and mountains means it’s easy to get cut off but this was extraordinary to have all roads out at the same time.