New Books, Bestsellers Available for Borrowing at Ball State's Bracken Library

The University Libraries lease a collection of 600 ever changing titles to provide students, faculty, staff, and resident affiliates the opportunity to read fiction and non-fiction that is popular across the country.

Circulation data for last fiscal year 2005-2006 show that there were 4,988 circulations, of which 73.1% were for fiction titles and 26.9% for non-fiction. Circulation by user categories:
· Faculty, Staff, 28.5%
· Graduates, 9.8%
· Others (fellows, Muncie area high school students, Muncie residents), .7.3%
· Undergraduates, 54.4%
o Seniors, 18.0%
o Juniors, 15.0%
o Sophomores, 12.2%
o Freshmen, 8.5%
o Others, 0.7%

Readers interested in data for the fiscal year before last (2004-2005) are invited to read the October 2005 Library Insider, page 7, www.bsu.edu/library/virtualpress/libinsider.

The bestsellers collection is acquired through a leasing program. By leasing titles, the University Libraries are able to provide access to high-demand titles that change frequently. At any given time, the collection includes about 75% of the bestseller titles on national lists. The most popular items are fiction books, biographies, and political personalities.

For more information, contact Suzanne S. Rice, Ball State University Libraries’ Assistant Dean for Public Services, SRice@bsu.edu, (765) 285-1305.