Community Corner

How Indian Prairie's 'Hunger Games' Waiting List Grew to 740

Patch chats with Indian Prairie's Head of Youth Services Monica Dzierzbicki about the impact hit books like "The Hunger Games" have on local libraries—and how the library's waiting list for the book grew to be 740 people strong.

Patch: What are your first clues that a book is going to be outrageously popular? How did that specifically pan out with The Hunger Games trilogy?

Monica Dzierzbicki: At the Kids & Teens department, staff notice a slow buzz from within the kids and teens themselves, and then there seems to be an explosion in the number of requests for the books.

With The Hunger Games (2008) series by Suzanne Collins, it seemed to take about a year for these books to move from teens who love the dystopian genre to a general hunger for The Hunger Games. In Illinois, this may have been helped along by the first book being included on the 2011 Rebecca Caudill nominee list. Needless to say, The Hunger Games won with 10,013 votes.
Overall, for children and teens materials this is a much more recent trend, similar to the J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and Rick Riordan The Heroes of Olympus phenomena.

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Patch: How do you prepare for that demand?

Dzierzbicki: Our collection development procedures look at buying copies for the number of requests waiting. In addition, whenever staff begin to see the rise in popularity we will buy multiple copies, in multiple formats, as soon as we can to meet the demand. Though of course, we do have a budget we need to keep in mind. That is were the power of interlibrary loaning and other formats, like e-books come in to help out.

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Patch: How do e-books factor in?

Dzierzbicki: E-Books have been a big help for the library to get our members the titles they are waiting to read. Even though we might own 20 copies of the books, having alternate formats like e-books, books on CD, Playaways and large-print versions mean another copy that can be in the hands of a waiting reader. This also means that those readers waiting for their requests to be filled might have a shorter wait. Staff suggest that anyone waiting should check into downloading the titles they are looking for. In addition to using the OverDrive service to download titles, we have Nooks and Kindles available for Indian Prairie card holders, 14 and older, to check out. One of the titles available on the Nook is The Hunger Games.

Patch: Do you use the popularity of books like "The Hunger Games" to draw attention to other library offerings?

Dzierzbicki: We always look for ways to connect with our community, and books, movies or topics that are of high interest to our users are a high priority.
Last summer at one of our outreach activities, staff from the Kids & Teens Department created an interactive/outside Hunger Games game. (It included) challenges with identifying edible plants and simulated the Cornucopia scene. This year’s Summer Reading programs (starting May 21) will include a Hunger Games program for our teens.

The hope is that while our members are here for these activities, they will see all of the other amazing programs, services and materials we have for them. We currently have Hunger Games read-alike displays, helping readers to find similar plotted stories they may not know.

Patch: How does The Hunger Games phenomena compare to others, such as Harry Potter or Twilight?

Dzierzbicki: Each has its own movement. We have seen the Harry Potter series holding a more sustained popularity. Those children who began reading Harry when they were 10 and 11 years old are now in college and the work force—some with young children of their own. The Twilight series, while popular, seems to not have the lasting impact that J.K. Rowling created. It does make a difference when the book series, like those you've noted, have the crossover appeal between ages and generations. An author’s intended audiences, (Harry Potter: grades 4-8, Twilight: high school, The Hunger Games: high school), mean little once a book or series becomes pop culture phenomena. It remains to be seen just how long and how much The Hunger Games will continue to be on the scene.


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