Michael Moore and James Patterson Lead List of Library “Most Borrowed eBooks” for First Half of 2004

 

(ORLANDO: ALA Annual Meeting, June 23, 2004) – Michael Moore’s “Dude, Where’s My Country?” achieved the number one ranking on a list of “Most Borrowed eBooks” issued by OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), a leading eBook company serving a growing network of U.S. public libraries.  A special benefit screening of Mr. Moore’s controversial film “Fahrenheit 9/11” will be hosted by the American Library Association (ALA) for members and attendees of its annual conference in Orlando, FL., Sunday at 10 p.m. in the Orlando Convention Center Auditorium.

The “Most Borrowed eBooks” statistics are from checkout information of tens of thousands of titles for the first half 2004.  Best-selling author James Patterson has two eBooks on the list, “The Big Bad Wolf” and “3rd Degree”.  Other titles include “The Lovely Bones”, “Left Behind” and others from HarperCollins, Time Warner, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley and Sons, Tyndale House and RosettaBooks:

  • Dude, Where’s My Country? — Michael Moore
  • The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People — David Niven
  • The Low-Carb Comfort Food Cookbook — Michael R. Eades, et al
  • The Big Bad Wolf — James Patterson
  • How Would You Move Mount Fuji: Microsoft’s Cult of the Puzzle — William Poundstone
  • 3rd Degree — James Patterson
  • The Lovely Bones — Alice Sebold
  • 101 Best Tech Resumes — Jay Block
  • Left Behind – Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
  • 1984 — George Orwell

PDF eBooks, read using popular Adobe Reader software, are the overwhelming format of choice for patrons and students while MobiPocket Reader is gaining ground among PDA and Smartphone users.

“General fiction, romance, business and computer technology are the most popular subjects for titles borrowed from our eBook collection,” stated Brian Fowler, Electronic Reference Librarian at San Jose Public Library which recently earned “2004 Library of the Year” honors from Library Journal Magazine.  “We are experiencing strong use by our patrons, and they’re asking for more titles in every genre,” he added.

The statistics were culled from usage reports from a network of libraries including Cleveland Public Library (OH), King County Library System (WA), Denver Public Library (CO), San Jose Public Library (CA) and over 300 public libraries offering popular eBook titles to their patrons.

ALA attendees can view live demonstrations of OverDrive’s eBook solutions in Booth #2973 at Orange County Convention Center, Orlando.