SUNY Oswego’s Penfield Library recently released its list of its most borrowed books in 2023. According to Penfield’s official website, with “over 191,000 visitors… a 32 percent increase from 2022,” the library quantized what titles were most popular amongst those who checked out a book.
Broken down into two categories, Top Circulating Titles (including textbooks on Course Reserve) and Top Circulating Titles (excluding Course Reserve), Penfield found that “some of the most popular book titles include books on bioluminescence, urban affairs and [2023]’s Oswego Reading Initiative book, ‘Corruptible.’”
The most popular titles from the “Top Circulating Titles (including Course Reserve)” category were “Drugs and Society” by Glen Hanson, “Aim for the Heart: Write, Shoot, Report, and Produce for TV and Media” by Al Tompkins and “Analyzing Sound Patterns: An Introduction to Phonology” by Long Peng.
Similarly, the most popular checkouts for the “Top Circulating Titles (excluding Course Reserve)” category were “Bloom into You” by Nio Nakatani, “Bioluminescence: Living Lights, Lights for Living” by Therese Wilson and “Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us” by Brian P. Klass, which was also a highlight of the fall 2023 Living Writers Series.
Of particular note are the books such as “Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study” by Raula S. Rothenberg and Christina Jsu Accomando, “Deculturalization and The Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States” by Joel Spring and “Corruptible” by Brian P. Klass. Penfield Library held an “Oz Reads Banned Books” event on Oct. 3, meant to highlight the attempted erasure of literature regarding challenged social ideas and topics.
Even with ongoing discussion on what books are acceptable in the classroom, Penfield continues to supply works that may be considered beyond controversial at differing institutions but are essential in developing sociological viewpoints in the modern world. In addition, a majority of these literary works are required readings for courses, and Penfield not only carries these works but also lends them to students for free.
“Penfield is able to offer this, in part, due to partnerships with faculty who lend or donate copies of the items to the library,” the library’s website stated.
Photo by: Ricky Esquivel via Pexels
