The New York Public Library Reveals Its Most Checked-Out Books of All Time
Start off the new decade with some classics
Photos by Jonathan Blanc/New York Public Library
On Monday, the New York Public Library revealed its list of the 10 most checked-out books throughout its 125-year-long history, and topping the list is The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, with an impressive 485,583 check-outs.
Speaking to the appeal of the simple story about a young boy enjoying the snowfall, Andrew Medlar, one of the experts who compiled the list and the director of the library’s BookOps selection team, said in a statement, “It is such a relatable story, and pure magic for kids and adults alike. It’s on people’s radar screens, they remember when they first heard it, and they want to share that experience with their kids. And the artwork is just gorgeous.”
Medlar says that there are usually a few factors that contribute to a book’s popularity, including the length of the book (the shorter, the better), the number of languages available, how long it’s been in circulation, if it’s on school lists, and its relation to current events. Novels like Fahrenheit 451, for example, tend to have greater demand depending on a political situation that might make it feel timely to readers.