TORONTO -- Bookworms made former U.S. first lady Michelle Obamaâs memoir âBecomingâ the most-borrowed library book in some of Canadaâs biggest cities last year.
At the Toronto Public Library, which boasts one of the â,â Obamaâs book nabbed the .
Last year, the physical book was checked out of Toronto libraries 5,860 times, while the digital copy was borrowed 6,632 times.
And, without providing in-depth figures, a Halifax Public Libraries spokesperson said âBecomingâ topped their lists of most-borrowed books, which included physical books and audiobooks.
The librarians CTVNews.ca spoke to werenât shocked that Obamaâs uplifting memoir was the most-circulated book at public libraries in Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto, and in the top 10 in Montreal and Calgary.
Citing Obamaâs unique popularity in the U.S. and Canada, Wendy Banks, Toronto Public Libraryâs digital content lead of collection development, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview: âItâs really not that surprising.â
According to market research firm YouGovâs , Michelle Obama was the yearâs most admired woman in the world -- surpassing Taylor Swift and even the Queen.
She also expected the top spot going to Obama because her book had already led many top 10 lists at public libraries across the United States. And that popularity likely helped in sales as well.
have sold since the book was released in November and itâs set to become the best-selling memoir in history, according to the bookâs publisher.
Nabbing the second-place spot on Torontoâs most popular library items was 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novel âWashington Blackâ by Esi Edugyan, with Tara Westoverâs memoir âEducatedâ coming in third. Lists in Toronto and other cities also included famed author Maragaret Atwoodâs sequel to âThe Handmaidâs Taleâ (âThe Testamentsâ) and Louise Pennyâs âKingdom of the Blind.â
For the past three years, the Toronto Public Library has put out its list of top 10 books and Banks said if a book won the Giller Prize, it often landed on the list. âIt drives a lot of traffic, for sure,â she said.
Banks added with a chuckle that various editions of âThe Official MTO (Ontario Ministry of Transportation) Driverâs Handbookâ have always been among their most-circulated books.
, it took the top spot â it was borrowed 4,665 times -- but in 2019, there were two editions that split the tally enough to bump it off the list. In 2017, Banks said staff didnât include the driverâs handbook on the list because they felt it was too âweirdâ to be next to other titles. But they have since decided not to remove the manual from their top 10 lists anymore.
And , the most popular non-fiction book at the Toronto Public Library, which didnât track the top 10 books overall, was âWhen Breath Becomes Airâ by Paul Kalnithi.
'BECOMING' NOT IN TOP 10 FOR CALGARY, MONTREAL
But two libraries CTVNews.ca looked at that bucked the trend of Obama being the number-one borrowed book were the Montreal Public Libraries Network and the Calgary Public Library.
Although Obamaâs book was only the seventh-most borrowed physical book in Montreal, the digital copy was that libraryâs most signed out e-book, being signed out 1,498 times. Their most checked-out book was the thriller âThe Disappearance of Stephanieâ by Joël Dicker.
And in Calgaryâs libraries, the most requested title in 2019 for adults and children was Dav Pilkeyâs childrenâs book âDog Man: for Whom the Ball Rolls.â A childrenâs book leading the pack is no surprise for Calgary librarians as âHarry Potter and the Sorcererâs Stoneâ has been their most checked-out book in the past 20 years.
But Obamaâs âBecomingâ was still one of the libraryâs most requested books and e-books, library CEO Mark Asberg said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca.
Like Banks, Asberg wasnât surprised Obama topped so many library lists because âher profile is so huge (and has) a great deal of positive connotation.â
At the Vancouver Public Library, where staff are currently compiling a list of their most borrowed books of all time, a spokesperson said number one would âlikely be a kidsâ book, as those tend to remain popular over time whereas adult book popularity changes more frequently.â
In Toronto, Banks had a similar hunch that if their most-borrowed book lists had included combined totals from books in a series, all of Jeff Kinneyâs âDiary of a Wimpy Kidâ books combined would land at the top of the list.