THERE has been a huge increase in people borrowing books, magazines and audio books from Renfrewshire’s Digital Library.
Paisley Central LibrarySince lockdown began there has been an 81 per cent increase in people going online to borrow from the service, a 74 per cent jump in e-book and e-audiobook issues and a 58 per cent increase in reservations compared to the same period last year.
Author Margaret Atwood’s the Testaments: the Handmaid’s Tale Series, Book 2 is the most popular digital title being borrowed with a tale of the tough-guy American loner Jack Reacher in Lee Child’s Blue Moon the next most popular.
Renfrewshire Leisure’s chairperson, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes said: “Our libraries may have had to be closed, but we are always open for business online. We’ve a fantastic variety of e-books, audio titles and popular magazines available for library members to read when they borrow from our digital library.
“You could say we’re the library that never shuts, which is handy during the current lockdown, as more and more people are spending time reading while they stay at home.”
Anyone can join Renfrewshire Libraries at www.renfrewshirelibraries.co.uk to get access to the digital books, audio books and magazines.
Here’s the league tables of the most popular digital titles borrowed during lockdown –
Adult e-books – 5 most popular titles
| Title | Author / Creator |
| The Testaments: The Handmaid’s Tale Series, Book 2 | Atwood, Margaret |
| Blue Moon: Jack Reacher Series, Book 24 | Child, Lee |
| Buried: DC Jack Warr Series, Book 1 | La Plante, Lynda |
| The Foundling | Halls, Stacey |
| The Warning | Patterson, James |
Adult e-audiobooks – 5 most popular titles
| Title | Author / Creator |
| The Family Upstairs | Jewell, Lisa |
| The Mystery of Mercy Close | Keyes, Marian |
| Cleaning the Gold | Slaughter, Karin |
| Too Good to Be True | Cleeves, Ann |
| 44 Scotland Street | McCall-Smith, Alexander |
Junior e-books – 5 most popular titles
| Title | Author / Creator |
| 50 Ways to Beat Boredom with LEGO Bricks | Dorling Kindersley |
| What Monster?: Tom Gates Series, Book 15 | Pichon, Liz |
| Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories | Palacio, R J |
| The Day I Started a Mega Robot Invasion: The Day Series | McLaughlin, Tom |
| The Meltdown: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, Book 13 | Kinney, Jeff |
Junior e-audiobooks – 5 most popular titles
| Title | Author / Creator |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball (Book 14) | Kinney, Jeff |
| Meg and Mog Audio Collection | Nicoll, Helen |
| The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance | Balding, Clare |
| The Bone Garden | Kassner, Heather |
| How to Read a Book | Alexander, Kwame |
Young adult e-books – 5 most popular titles
| Title | Author / Creator |
| Bog Child | Dowd, Siobhan |
| The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | Boyne, John |
| The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Vintage Children’s Classics | Haddon, Mark |
| Nightshade: Alex Rider Series, Book 12 | Horowitz, Anthony |
| One of Us Is Next | McManus, Karen |
Young adult e-audiobooks – 5 most popular titles
| Title | Creator |
| Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane: The Underland Chronicles, Book 2 | Collins, Suzanne |
| The Secret Commonwealth: Book of Dust Series, Book 2 | Pullman, Philip |
| Tilly and the Lost Fairytales: Pages & Co. Series, Book 2 | James, Anna |
| To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Series, Book 1 | Han, Jenny |
| American Royals | McGee, Katharine |
E-magazines – 5 most popular titles
| Title |
| HELLO! magazine |
| Radio Times |
| Woman & Home |
| BBC Good Food Magazine |
| New Scientist International Edition |