Book Buying Survey 2006: Budgets Rebound
The strongest increase in years and a focus on fiction characterize LJ's annual survey
By Barbara Hoffert -- Library Journal, 2/15/2006
Ah, the sweet sound of “we told you so.” This year's book buying survey of U.S. public libraries, spread across 100 libraries by population served and region, substantiates trends we've seen developing over the last several surveys. Last year, for instance, adult book budgets turned up slightly after a tumble of several years' duration (see “Adult Book Budgets, 1998–2005,”). This year, the upswing continues, with budgets rising 4.65% on average—the best showing in six years.
More money means more books for browsing, cited by half of this year's respondents as the reason circulation continued a six-year trend upward. Better promotion and the ability to reserve from home also got a nod from four in ten respondents. The circulation boom has been an especially bright spot in LJ's ongoing survey, and this year's overall 3.4% jump is one of the biggest reported since the survey began.
More than best sellers
Of course, it's not just more books but which books that make the difference, and librarians have told us in the past few years that they are shifting their priorities to be sure they are delivering what patrons want. For most of them, that means buying more fiction, which last year took a slightly bigger chunk of the adult book budget than nonfiction after static years at little more than one-third. This year, fiction stands solidly at 50%, and nearly one in five respondents cited adult fiction as an area where expenditures are increasing. Meanwhile, health/medicine and how-to remain among the leaders in nonfiction, with current events also coming out on top as librarians sharpen their purchases to secure the most popular materials. But beyond the numbers, what are libraries really buying?
Want a good novel? Go to the library. That's truer than ever now. Not only are fiction budgets up, but with “the cost per fiction title lower than for many of the nonfiction titles,” says Susan Knorr, Milwaukee PL, the budget really stretches. Clearly, plenty of fiction is making its way through America's public libraries. But are we talking just countless copies of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code?
Many of LJ's respondents did cite multiple copies of best-selling novels as a main reason that their adult fiction expenditures are climbing. “We are buying more copies of really popular titles,” says Sherrie Antonowicz, Greensboro PL, NC, “and some copies are not reservable.” Similarly, at Douglas County Libraries, Castle Rock, CO, 50 copies are now purchased for every 99 holds instead of 25, with the extra 25 copies always sitting on the shelves as YLD (“Your Lucky Day”) copies. They're even tagged with a shamrock. “It's instant gratification,” observes Douglas County's Deb Margeson. “I do think that is the reason our fiction expenditures have increased.”
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But it's not true that libraries have abandoned the quest for midlist fiction beyond the blockbusters. “We certainly buy a lot of best sellers and genres, but we still try to balance those titles with some diversity and titles that folks aren't always hearing about,” confirms Columbus's Nesbitt. Pat James at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library concurs, pointing out that she purchases debut and small-press authors favorably reviewed in LJ, Booklist, PW, Kirkus, and the New York Times Book Review. She also gives the concept of popular reading some much-needed context. “When I refer to 'popular' fiction, I am thinking of a wider range than just best-selling authors,” she explains. “Actually, literary authors like Julian Barnes, Zadie Smith, Jeffry Eugenides, and Michael Chabon (a former Pittsburgher!) do well. But customers are hungry for so much more.”
Down South, selectors at Greensboro PL are addressing that hunger by buying not just well-received first fiction but also more short story collections and the best fiction in translation—two areas that “have not circulated well here historically, but we're trying again,” says Antonowicz. At Brooklyn PL, Wayne Roylance devotes nearly three-quarters of the new fiction budget to 40 or 50 of the hottest titles but leaves room for some imaginative purchases. “For midlist authors, I usually look for one of two things,” explains Roylance, “something 'Oprah-like' for our traditional patrons (recently ordered authors include Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Maile Meloy, Sharon Owens, Carol Goodman, and Joanne Harris) or something from up-and-coming 'important' writers (or potentially important) for our 'serious literature' aficionados (recent orders include books by Kiran Desai, Olga Grushin, Dara Horn, Heather McGowen, and Magnus Mills).” With a list like that, it's not altogether surprising that one of the library's recent “surprise hits” was Michel Houellebecq's thorny and controversial The Elementary Particles.
The surprise hits reported by LJ's respondents say a lot about the depth of reading in public libraries today and the sort of fiction more ambitious patrons crave. Forget sex scenes, sex fiends, and thrills-and-chills, and forget anything self-consciously experimental as well. “Good writing, good plotting, good character development, and a lack of pretentiousness” brought fans to Russell Banks's The Darling and Margot Livesey's Banishing Verona at the Morris County Library, NJ, notes Mark Anderson.
At Boyle County PL, KY, says Karl Benson, Silas House's Clay's Quilt stood out for its “emotional depth and emphasis on human relationships.” And what turned Khalid Hosseini's The Kite Runner from yesteryear's surprise hit to tomorrow's perennial hit? “It provides insight into a part of the world many of us are curious about,” says Sharon Ufer, Pierce County PL, Tacoma, which suggests why everything from Anglo Indian fiction to recent works by Arabic or Arab American novelists spark such interest. Though some of these titles did get media exposure, they did not receive the monster publicity accorded books like Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian—proof that while what Jo Griffiths of Richland County PL, Columbia, SC, calls “publicity-fueled demand” does push fiction purchases, it doesn't limit what people read.
From mystery to chick lit
Genre remains a powerful component of public library fiction collections, and in genre, mystery still reigns supreme. “The demand grows every year,” report Catherine A. Sheanshang and Sally Kramer, PL of Cincinnati & Hamilton County. Still, different types of mysteries fare well at different locales. “Our stalwart heavy-fiction-use branches request lots of traditional cozies,” observes Sara Karow, Houston PL, TX. Meanwhile, patrons at Vespasian Warner PL, IL, go for “offbeat mysteries combining vampires and wizards,” says Tom Rudasill, making series by Kerry Greenwood (“Phryne Fisher”) and Mary Janice Davidson (“Undead and…”) surprise hits.
Cop mysteries are popular in Brooklyn, but the genres that do best are thriller/spy novels and romance. Greensboro PL's Antonowicz certainly goes along with the spy game: “Other than the occasional Nicholas Sparks or similar title, thrillers are the most popular fiction with our readers.” While fantasy does well in some libraries, having grabbed Harry Potter's robes and gone along for the ride, sf in general is not a heavy contender. But watch out for chick lit—“romance designed to appeal to those with a more intellectual bent,” as Carnegie's James describes it. Several respondents cite it as a main drain on the adult book budget.
Aside from chick lit, rapidly expanding areas include graphic novels (not all fiction, of course) and African American fiction. Although only a handful of respondents place graphic novels among their top circulating subjects, they point out that it wasn't even on the charts five years ago; many others cite it as an area where expenditures are increasing. In addition, from the Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, where African American fiction tops the list of subjects where expenditures are rising, to Houston PL, which must do large annual backlist orders to catch up with demand, African American works, particularly fiction, are on the move. A burgeoning segment of that market is street lit, which many of LJ's respondents have begun purchasing aggressively, turning to nontraditional sources for information and ignoring the absence of reviews that for many was initially a stumbling block.
Nonfiction shift
As previous surveys have revealed, many patrons now chase down the information they need on the Internet, a development that is changing the face of nonfiction in public libraries nationwide. Not that patrons don't come to the library to get their facts straight. Medicine, health, and diet/fitness books still sit on top of the nonfiction heap. And while the how-to/home category has slipped a bit after surging to second place last year, it still ranks among the top four nonfiction circulators. “I was amazed that the circulation for 640s (home) alone is 13% of the adult nonfiction circulation,” says Janice Black, Central Rappahannock Regional Lib., Fredericksburg, VA.
Still, there's a definite move away from what Corinne Hill, Denton PL, TX, tellingly calls “informational nonfiction.” Instead, patrons seem to be migrating to “nonfiction that reads like fiction,” says Diane Adams, International Falls PL, MN—which perhaps explains the popularity of the memoir (and the debacle of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces)—or to works that offer something more than straightforward reporting. Those looking for deeper understanding have made surprise hits of offbeat but thought-provoking books like Steven D. Leavitt's and Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics and Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. Pierce County's Lisa Bitney observes that these titles “provide an unusual take on ourselves and our culture.”
In general, observes Adams, “the interest in contemporary commentaries is fairly new and growing.” Some of this interest is focused on politics, though Sallie Swank, Fort Worth PL, TX, believes that such interest “has veered away from demand for straightforward ideology and more toward books like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America.” In addition, as readers step back and reflect on society, books on religion, philosophy, and spirituality are creeping up in circulation. Mentioned as top circulators by only 6% of LJ's respondents in 2001, these books made the grade for nearly one in five respondents this year. (Look for more on spiritual living titles in LJ's May 15 issue.)
In the end, recent nonfiction purchasing reflects fiction purchasing: librarians want to deliver the books for which folks are clamoring. A number of respondents who reported increased funding for best-selling fiction mentioned best-selling nonfiction in the same breath. Others echoed Tom Horne, Seattle PL: “We have refocused our priorities and are buying less advanced-level fiction.” Even biography has felt the impact of commerce, except for mega-sellers like Bill Clinton's,” comments Douglas McDonough, Manchester PL, CT.
Whether budgets will continue rising to meet popular demand depends on the economy, of course. Some respondents had a basis for hope. “This year's increase definitely represents a true turnaround,” says Houston PL's Karow, “reflecting the post-9/11, post-Enron economic recovery Houston is starting to experience.” But as Seattle's Horne cautions, “The increase in our materials budget only takes us back to pre–budget reduction levels. Over a five-year period, our materials budget has remained flat.” Will budgets go up next year so that Horne's library can get a real increase? We have our fingers crossed.
| Subject | Highest Circulation | Highest Expenditures |
| Medicine/Health | 58 | 55 |
| Biographies | 46 | 38 |
| Cooking | 45 | 36 |
| How-To/Home Arts | 39 | 43 |
| History | 38 | 35 |
| Travel | 37 | 36 |
| Arts/Crafts | 37 | 20 |
| Self-Help/Psychology | 26 | 19 |
| Business/Careers | 24 | 27 |
| Religion/Philosophy/Spiritual/Occult | 17 | 7 |
| Computer Books | 13 | 18 |
| SOURCE: LJ Book Buying Survey 2006 | ||
| Versus last fiscal year, | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Adult book budget has... | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
| Increased | 61 | 65 | 48 | 49 | 43 | 31 | 42 | 43 |
| Stayed the same | 34 | 27 | 34 | 39 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 39 |
| Decreased | 5 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 23 | 33 | 22 | 18 |
| Net change | +6 | +5 | +3 | +3.1 | +3.5 | -3.3 | +0.18 | +4.65 |
| SOURCE: LJ Book Buying Survey 2006 | ||||||||
| Population Served | Total Operating Budget | Materials Budget | Total Book Budget | Total Adult Book Budget | Adult Fiction Budget | Total Children's Budget | Adult Titles Cirulation |
| Under 10,000 | $225,000 | $49,000 | $29,000 | $18,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | 27,000 |
| 10,000-24,999 | 506,000 | 79,000 | 55,000 | 38,000 | 22,000 | 17,000 | 97,000 |
| 25,000-49,999 | 1,410,000 | 190,000 | 126,000 | 92,000 | 38,000 | 34,000 | 195,000 |
| 50,000-99,999 | 3,311,000 | 440,000 | 307,000 | 200,000 | 84,000 | 114,000 | 421,000 |
| 100,000-249,999 | 5,542,000 | 646,000 | 413,000 | 283,000 | 133,000 | 135,000 | 779,000 |
| 250,000-499,999 | 10,012,000 | 1,528,000 | 1,052,000 | 747,000 | 333,000 | 305,000 | 1,303,000 |
| 500,000-999,999 | 31,994,000 | 4,140,000 | 2,248,000 | 1,789,000 | 586,000 | 647,000 | 3,594,000 |
| 1 million or more | 55,174,000 | 6,507,000 | 3,794,000 | 2,369,000 | 965,000 | 1,179,000 | 4,345,000 |
| Because libraries break down book budgets differently, adult's and children's budgets may not equal total. SOURCE: LJ Book Buying Survey 2006 |
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| Author Information |
| Barbara Hoffert is Editor, LJ Book Review |
