Top Circulating Children's Books

The Yellow Books, 1887 . Fine Art. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 18 May 2016.
http://quest.eb.com/search/108_303306/1/108_303306/cite

“Knowledge is like money: To be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.”
― Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man  

In the library, "circulation" means a lot of things.  What's sometimes called the "library card desk" is also known as "circulation".  When we look at a book's record, we count how many times it has checked out as its "circs". The library's collection floats (items checked out at one branch and returned at another stay at the branch at which they are returned), but its items circulate.

It's the time of year when the kids are at home and you are looking for something for them to read - or perhaps for book recommendations for gifts? Here's a list of the most popular picture books in the system - many are part of a series, and some are of seasonal interest (but hey, there are turkeys eaten in December as well as November!). Our intrepid storytime personnel also recommend The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants, The Sound of All Things, Wake Up, City!, Madeline Finn and the Library Dog, Little Wing Learns to Fly, and Mr. Moon.

Top Circulating  Children’s Easy

1.  Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann [series]

2. Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor [series]

3. Thanksgiving Mice by Bethany Roberts

4. The Berenstain Bears by Mike Berenstain [series]

5. I Am a Princess by Courtney Carbone

6. Minnie & Moo by Denys Cazet

7. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Star Wars Little Golden Book by Geof Smith

8. Pete the Cat by James Dean [series]

9. Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant

10. What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss

11. The Cookie Fiasco by Mo Willems

12. Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child

13. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

14. Star Wars ABC-3PO by Calliope Glass

15. Round the Turkey by Leslie Kimmelman

For the older kids, ages 8-12, we have a separate list. At this age, they really love a good chapter book series!

Top Circulating  Children’s Fiction

1.  Champ by Ellen Miles [Puppy Place series]

2. Giselle the Christmas Ballet Fairy by Daisy Meadows [Rainbow Magic series]

3. The BFG by Roald Dahl

4. Magical Mission by Geronimo Stilton [Geronimo Stilton series]

5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Junior Novel by Michael Kogge

6. Starfire Starbomb by Steve Korte [Teen Titans Go! Series]

7. Mobs in the Mine by Winter Morgan [Unofficial Minetrapped Adventure series]

8. Blizzard of the Blue Moon by Mary Pope Osborne [Magic Tree House series]

9. Holes by Louis Sachar

10. Liz’s Night at the Museum by Callie Barkley [Critter Club series]

11. Saving Crafter by Mark Cheverton [Unofficial Minecrafter’s Adventure series]

12. November Night by Ron Roy [Calender Mysteries series]

13. The Haunter by R. L Stine [Goosebumps Most Wanted series]

14. Calliope the Muse by Joan Holub [Goddess Girls series]

15. Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce [Big Nate series]

What are your kids checking out from the library? Let us know in the comments!

Community Picks:Checkout Suggestions From Our Customers

Many library branches offer Staff Picks to their customers, be they books, movies, or other media. We love to recommend the things we have discovered and enjoyed from the library catalog - you can find 1243 items labeled "staff pick" just by searching the catalog! But there is often a give and take to checkout suggestions - we have found out about some really interesting titles from talking with our customers! So, we thought we might turn the tables for a change, and publish some of our customers' recommendations. We've enlisted the help of some library users from the community for this post, but we are always looking for more - let us know your suggestions in the comments or email your name and recommendations to abcreads@gmail.com and we'll post them next time.



Keif from the Guild Cinema recommends some DVDs from the library catalog:

Pickpocket: un film de Robert Bresson

Theory of Obscurity: A Film About the Residents

También la lluvia

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Rumble Fish

Rebelle [War Witch]


Brandon, a deejay on KUNM's Afternoon Freeform, would like to put in a good word for some of our music CDs!

Camel's Back by Psapp

Feitiço Caboclo by Dona Onete

Metropolis: The Chase Suite by Janelle Monáe 

Sketches Of Ethiopia by Mulatu Astatqé

Black Power: Music Of A Revolution by Various Artists

Artemis by Moussu T et Les Jovents


And Neal from AMP Concerts, a seasoned library user, would like to share some of his favorite library items and services:

I have the pleasure of working in the libraries regularly, as AMP hosts free concerts at the libraries twice a month.  It’s always a fun adventure to get to visit different parts of town and play with the different spaces.  We have some music-loving regulars who follow us around the county, as well as some groups that sometimes come en masse, but the bulk of our attendees come from the local communities, which is a lot of what the program is about.

So I’m guaranteed at least two library visits a month, though I often find myself popping in to some of my regular library stops more often than that.  There are so many features to love in the libraries, and all of our libraries have so many different personalities (which is probably a blog post on its own).

Several years ago I reconnected to my youthful love of comics and started catching up on the book length volumes of GRAPHIC NOVELS that I had missed over the years.  The library has a great collection of graphic novels.  They are a great alternative to my regular reading and it seems like I regularly have a half dozen out at any time.

Every once in a while, I’ll find a hole in the series that I’m reading.  That’s how one of the librarians turned me on to the magic of the INTERLIBRARY LOAN.  For no extra charge, you can put in an ILL and usually in short order, some dedicated librarians somewhere else in the country have shipped the book off to Albuquerque for my enjoyment.  

I usually have my own plans for what I’m reading, but I’m in the libraries enough that I always have time to browse the STAFF PICKS, where I frequently find myself knocked onto a new reading course that’s always been interesting and rewarding.

I’m old fashioned and like books, but I’ve been traveling a lot lately and the books I’m reading are too bulky for long trips.  While I’m not won over, the fact that I can get EBOOKS from the library is a pretty cool thing (and even readers too!)

I also like the history that our libraries capture - from the historic ERNIE PYLE house to our beautiful first library, re-opened as the SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY (which even makes a star turn in "Better Call Saul”).  I’ve caught a few history lectures at the libraries too, which are a nice compliment to the buildings and collections.

Those are just a handful of the many great experiences I’ve had at our libraries.  I’m looking forward to my next visit!

 

Picture credit: The Striped Tablecloth. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 May 2016. http://quest.eb.com/search/107_3349913/1/107_3349913/cite. Accessed 18 Oct 2016.

Top Circulating Travel & History

The Yellow Books, 1887 . Fine Art. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 18 May 2016.
http://quest.eb.com/search/108_303306/1/108_303306/cite

“Knowledge is like money: To be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.”
― Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man  

In the library, "circulation" means a lot of things.  What's sometimes called the "library card desk" is also known as "circulation".  When we look at a book's record, we count how many times it has checked out as its "circs". The library's collection floats (items checked out at one branch and returned at another stay at the branch at which they are returned), but its items circulate.

Looking for some travel inspiration or to do a little armchair exploring? Here are the most popular books system-wide that focus on geography and travel - from guidebooks both near and far to travel memoirs,

Top Circulating Travel Books

1.  Moon Handbooks [guidebook series]

2. Hiking to History by Robert Julyan

3. American Ghost by Hannah Nordhaus

4. Lonely Planet: Mexico by John Noble

5. Sandia Mountain Hiking Guide by Michael Elliott Coltrin

6. 100 Things to Do in Albuquerque Before You Die by Ashley M. Biggers

7. Elephant Complex by John Gimlette

8. Walking Albuquerque by Stephen Ausherman

9. Braving It by James Campbell

10. Camping New Mexico by Melinda Crow

11. Fodor’s California

12. At Home With Ernie Pyle by Ernie Pyle

13. The Rough Guide: Mexico

14. Fodor’s New York City

15. Frommer’s Easyguide to Costa Rica

16. Home Sweet Anywhere by Lynne Martin

17. Moon: New Mexico by Zora O’Neill

18. Lonely Planet: Southwest USA’s Best Trips by Amy C. Balfour

19. Eyewitness: Southwest USA & National Parks by Randa Bishop

20. The Wonder Trail by Steve Hely

21. Grand Canyon by James Kaiser

22. Explorer’s Guide: New Mexico by Sharon Niederman

23. Our Indian Summer in the Far West by S. Nugent Townshend

24 Fodor's Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West

25. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The top circulating history books have a wide range - some newer titles, some older, a fair amount of local.

Top Circulating History Books

1.  Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta by Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Heritage Committee

2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

3. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

4. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

5. Killing Kennedy  by Bill O’Reilly

6. The Apache Wars by Paul Andrew Hutton

7. Trump Revealed  by Michael Kranish

8. Whistlestop by John Dickerson

9. 1491 by Charles C. Mann

10. Anatomy of Malice by Joel E. Dimsdale

11. Where the Jews Aren’t by Masha Gessen

12. My (Underground) American Dream by Julissa Arce

13. Historic Ranches of Northeastern New Mexico by Baldwin G. Burr

14. High Road to Taos by Mike Butler

15. An American Genocide by Benjamin Madley

16. Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick

17. Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts

18. Forty Autumns by Nina Willner

19. Walking the Llano by Shelley Armitage

20. Look Into My Eyes by Kevin Bubriski

21. "All the Real Indians Died Off" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

22. The Railroad and the Pueblo Indians by Richard H. Frost

23. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade

24 Doña Teresa Confronts the Spanish Inquisition by Frances Levine

25. New Mexico Myths and Legends by Barbara Marriott

 

Do you have any recommended history and/or travel reads? Let us know in the comments!