Most Borrowed Alberta-Published Library Books in 2021
By Jessie Bach
Since the launch of the Read Alberta website, I’ve been checking out the monthly lists of bestselling Alberta books. This got me wondering—what are the most borrowed Alberta books? To find out, I crunched the borrowing data for my library system and reached out to colleagues across the province to find out the most popular Alberta-published books at public libraries.
Below are the twenty Alberta-published books that were borrowed the most at Alberta public libraries so far in 2021. Homes: A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung (Freehand Books), a memoir about growing up in Syria, tops the list, followed by a delicious cookbooks, recent non-fiction about sports, family and community, and some gardening classics. THE KEY study guides, published by Castle Rock Research in Edmonton, make a strong showing on this list as well—perhaps indicating the extra support students needed this year as they learned from home. These guides align with the school curriculum and have been classics in Alberta libraries for years.
Data was collected from the following libraries and regional library systems: Calgary Public Library, Chinook Arch Regional Library System, Edmonton Public Library, Shortgrass Library System, and TRAC (Marigold Library System, Northern Lights Library System, Peace Library System, and Yellowhead Regional Library).
1.
Homes: A Refugee Story Abu Bakr al Rabeeah
Published: May 01, 2018 by Freehand Books
Abu Bakr al Rabeeah 
, Winnie Yeung
Published: May 01, 2018 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781988298283
2.
Power Play: Professional Hockey and the Politics of Urban Development Jay Scherer
Published: Oct 10, 2019 by University of Alberta Press
Jay Scherer , David Mills , Linda Sloan McCulloch
Published: Oct 10, 2019 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772124934
3.
Dirty Food: sticky, saucy, gooey, crumbly, messy, shareable food
Julie Van Rosendaal
Published 2019 by Dinner with Julie ISBN:9780968756324
4.
Kids These Days: A Game Plan For (Re)Connecting With Those We Teach, Lead, & Love
Dr. Jody Carrington
Published 2019 by Dr. Jody Carrington ISBN:9781948334211
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Biology 30
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Physics 207.
Little Yellow House: Finding Community in a Changing Neighbourhood Carissa Halton
Published: Aug 20, 2018 by University of Alberta Press
Carissa Halton
Published: Aug 20, 2018 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772123753
8.
Learning Cree
Grace Buffalo
Published 1995 by Samson Cree Nation Education & Duval House Publishing
THE KEY Study Guide: Mathematics 30-1
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Biology 2011.
The Red Chesterfield Wayne Arthurson
Published: Oct 15, 2019 by University of Calgary Press
Wayne Arthurson
Published: Oct 15, 2019 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773850771
THE KEY Study Guide: Mathematics 20-1
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Chemistry 20
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Chemistry 3015.
This Wound is a World Billy-Ray Belcourt
Published: Sep 26, 2017 by Frontenac House Ltd.
Billy-Ray Belcourt
Published: Sep 26, 2017 by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781927823644
16.
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Mathematics 10 Combined
Published by Castle Rock Research
ISBN: 9781770444232
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta English 10-118.
THE KEY Study Guide: Alberta Social Studies 10-1
Published by Castle Rock Research
ISBN: 9781770444263
19.
Vegetable Gardening for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba Laura Peters
Published: Mar 01, 2021 by Lone Pine Media
Laura Peters
Published: Mar 01, 2021 by Lone Pine Media
ISBN: 9781774510414
20.
Lois Hole's Vegetable Favorites: A Rich Vegetable Harvest Lois Hole
Published: Mar 01, 1996 by Lone Pine Publishing
Lois Hole
Published: Mar 01, 1996 by Lone Pine Publishing
ISBN: 9781551050720
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Jessie Bach grew up on a family farm in Southern Alberta, and is a life-long library user and book lover. She has a degree in history from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Master of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University. Jessie has worked in archives, academic libraries, corporate records management, and now public libraries. Her current role is Bibliographic Services Manager at Marigold Library System where she manages the team that does acquisitions, cataloguing and processing of library material for Marigold’s thirty-six member libraries. She currently lives in Calgary with her partner and, in true librarian fashion, four cats. Jessie likes to read (of course), knit, consume way too many true crime podcasts, and lift weights in the gym.