New York Public Library Reveals The Most Checked-Out Books Of All Time

By Mikelle Leow, 15 Jan 2020

Image via Amazon

Who you are might, in part, be because of the books you read. The New York Public Library (NYPL) has helped shape the formative years of many readers, and to celebrate 125 years of touching Americans’ lives, it has revealed the titles of its most borrowed books in history.

The NYPL has the second largest book collection in the US, right after the Library of Congress, and its selection of literature has reached millions.

Since reading is especially important at an early age, children’s books naturally make up most of the list.

What’s worth mentioning is the appearance of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the ranking, since a book’s publishing time affects its total number of checkouts. Rowling’s work is fairly new in comparison with the other titles.

If you’re wondering why Margaret Wise Brown’s acclaimed Goodnight Moon from 1947 didn’t show up here, the NYPL explains that its former children’s librarian Anne Carroll Moore “hated” it, so Goodnight Moon wasn’t on the library’s shelves until 1972. “That lost time bumped the book off the top 10 list for now. But give it time,” the NYPL adds.

The only title from the list that isn’t a children’s book or novel is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, indicating the prominence of social influence and acceptance in adulthood.

You can learn more about the NYPL’s most checked-out books of all time here.

1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (485,583 checkouts)