“Sorcerer’s Stone” one of the most checked-out books at the NYPL

In celebration of its 125th anniversary, the New York Public Library has released the list of its top 10 most checked-out books of all time.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone comes in at #9 with 231,022 check-outs since its U.S. publication in 1998.  Given the worldwide record-breaking popularity of the Harry Potter series, prima facie, this might not seem surprising.  In fact, you might wonder why it isn’t higher on the list.  But consider this:  It’s the most recently published book on the top 10 list by a very wide margin, so it’s had far fewer years in which to be checked-out.  Here’s the rest of the list:

1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1962) 485,583 check-outs
2. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (1957) 469,650 check-outs
3. 1984 by George Orwell (1949) 441,770 check-outs
4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963) 436,016 chec-outs
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) 422,912 check-outs
6. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1952) 337,948 check-outs
7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953) 316,404 check-outs
8. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936) 284,524 check-outs
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (1998) 231,022 check-outs
10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969) 189,550 check-outs

Which ones have you read?  What are your most checked-out books from the library?  Which Hogwarts house has a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People lying around its Common Room?  Tell us in the comments.  I must confess, I’d never head of The Snowy Day until reading this list.  I was an avid reader and patron of my local library as a child, but somehow missed it.

The Harry Potter series as a whole was #1 on the most challenged books list compiled by the American Library Association from 2000-2009.  As Hermione noted in Goblet of Fire, banning something is the best way to guarantee that everyone will want to read it.