Jimmy Barnes, Hunger Games and Big Little Lies among most popular titles in 2017

The free service has released their top 10 lists of what peaked people’s interest most in more than 1.26 million items borrowed.

One customer alone borrowed 2174 items in 2017 – the equivalent to taking out seven items for every day of the year. While two others borrowed 1684 and 1652 items this year respectively.

Those who liked traditional page turners were most intrigued by Night School by Lee Child - the twenty-first book in the Jack Reacher series.

It topped the list for adult fiction overall, while two titles by Liane Moriarty were most popular for adult Australian fiction with Truly, Madly, Guilty at number one followed by Big Little Lies (which was turned into an American mini-series and nominated for several Golden Globe and Emmy awards).

The former also topped the eAudiobook list and was second on the top eBooks behind ​a tale about modern-day women seeking adventure with Worlds Apart by Ber Carroll.

Big Little Lies was also second top reservation in 2018 - behind suspense drama Force of Nature, award-winning Australian author Jane Harper’s second novel.

Jimmy Barnes’ first instalment of his memoirs Working Class Boy topped out the list of most popular Non Fiction titles ahead of actress and comedian Magda Szubanki’s Reckoning: A Memoir.

Third for non-fiction was The Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape’s guide on how to pay off your mortgage quicker and other savvy financial tips.

Northern suburbs comedian, artist and author Ahn Do was the big favourite in junior fiction, with six of his WeirDo titles in the top 10 interspersed by Andy Griffiths’ Treehouse tales.

Medieval dragons, fantasy, history and suspense piqued borrower’s interest according to the top adult DVDs. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story topped out the list, followed by the Australian-made The Dressmaker starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth.

Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, and Outlander series were also in the top 10.

For the juniors, Playschool: Famous Friends was the top pick after Rold Dahl adaptations and the animated favourite Finding Dory.

The best alternative songs of 2016 were most popular for music CDs, Triple J’s Hottest 100. Vol 24 the top borrowed. The best of pop came in second with Now 2016. Vol 2 and the Rolling Stones covers album Blue & Lonesome in third.

Libraries have evolved to be more than rows and rows of paperbacks and hard covers. They now include a range of services like access to internet and scanning, free online learning courses through Lynda, downloadable eMagazines and eBooks, plus host practical skills workshops.

“Thirty years ago people were saying libraries wouldn’t exist in the future because of digitisation and people wouldn’t need them. But the paradox is people need them more than ever,” said Dr John Vallance, CEO of the State Library of NSW.

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