Recently, OCLC rolled out The Library 100, a list of the top print novels held by the world’s libraries. OCLC Research generated this list using data from WorldCat.

For most people, a list of 100 is fine. But for those of us who are bibliophiles and want to dig deeper, a list of the top 500 novels held in libraries also is available at the website. The list of 500 is marvelously rich and lets you explore even more titles, authors, and genres.

As I read over the longer list, I wondered how it would match up against a list of the most-requested novels on the OCLC system, WorldShare ILL. Would there be any overlap? Would the two lists be mutually exclusive? What about authors? Who would be on both lists? Any other similarities and differences?

Using ILL data from the last five years, I pulled a list of the top 100 novels requested on WorldShare ILL and compared it to The Library 500. Six titles and 11 authors were on both lists.

Top novels on WorldShare ILL vs. top novels of all time

The Library 500 reflects a historical perspective of what literature is important; those books that have been most widely taught and translated over time. Not surprisingly, the overlap between The Library 500 and the most requested books on ILL centers on more recent popular novels, those that have established themselves as “modern classics.”

Titles that overlap:

In addition to the six authors above, there was overlap with five other authors. The titles borrowed on the ILL list were different, though, from the titles listed on The Library 500.

Authors that overlap:

Lists of books are fun. It’s interesting to look at who’s reading what and which books are the most popular based on library holdings or ILL transactions. The complete ILL list can be found below.

Send us your observations

When we rolled out The Library 100 it instantly became a big hit. It was the most-viewed web page on our site for March and continues to be in the top five. The comments and sharing on social media platforms remain high. And the feedback we receive at meetings and conferences is positive and encouraging.

How do the top novels owned by libraries compare to those being loaned through ILL? Click To Tweet

Take a look at the ILL list and the list of The Top Novels of All Time. What are your observations? What titles are on the lists that surprise you? Who’s missing? Let us know your thoughts at library100@oclc.org, or post them to Twitter with the hashtag #library100novels.

Related posts …

• Resources to encourage reading with The Library 100 list
• What is the top novel of all time?
• Looking at interlibrary loan requests, 2018 edition
• Looking at interlibrary loan, 2017 edition
• Looking at interlibrary loan, 2016 edition
• Four interlibrary loan trends to watch in 2016

---

Top 100 ILL novels, 2014–2019

1. All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
2. A Man Called Ove: A Novel, Fredrik Backman
3. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
4. Me Before You: A Novel, Jojo Moyes
5. Orphan Train: A Novel, Christina Baker Kline
6. A Gentleman in Moscow, Armor Towles
7. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
8. Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel, Celeste Ng
9. Iris and Lily: Book One, Angela and Julie Scipioni
10. The Martian: A Novel, Andy Weir
11. Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
12. The Rosie Project: A Novel, Graeme C. Simsion
13. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
14. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
15. Storm Clouds Rolling In, Ginny Dye
16. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
17. Before We Were Yours: A Novel, Lisa Wingate
18. The Light Between Oceans, M. L. Stedman
19. The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
20. The Husband’s Secret, Liane Moriarty
21. Wonder, R. J. Palacio
22. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline
23. The Rent Collector: A Novel, Camron Steve Wright
24. Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty
25. The Storied Life of A. J. Firky: A Novel, Gabrielle Zevin
26. The Pecan Man, Cassie Dandridge Selleck
27. Ordinary Grace: A Novel, William Kent Krueger
28. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
29. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
30. Station Eleven: A Novel, Emily St. John Mandel
31. Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly
32. Fifty Shades of Grey, E. L. James
33. Spilled Milk, K.L. Randis
34. The Life We Bury: A Novel, Allen Erskins
35. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Fredrik Backman
36. Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark T. Sulliva
37. Circling the Sun, Paula McLain
38. News of the World, Paulette Jiles
39. On to Richmond, Ginny Dye
40. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
41. Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
42. Diary of an Oxygen Thief
43. What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty
44. Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee
45. Call Me by Your Name, Andre Aciman
46. Small Great Things: A Novel, Jodi Picoult
47. The Aviator’s Wife, Melanie Benjamin
48. Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
49. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
50. Exit West: A Novel, Moshin Hamid
51. Life in a Jar The Serena Sendler Project, Jack Mayer
52. The Hangman, Louise Penny
53. It, Stephen King
54. Still Life, Louise Penny
55. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen
56. Shade of Vampire: Book One, Bella Forrest
57. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child: Parts One and Two, Jack Thorne, J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany
58. Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel, Jesmyn Ward
59. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson
60. The Power: A Novel, Naomi Alderman
61. Commonwealth: A Novel, Ann Patchett
62. Woman in Cabin 10, Ruth Ware
63. Our Souls at Night, Kent Haruf
64. The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom
65. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
66. The Girls: A Novel, Emma Cline
67. The Letter, Kathryn Hughes
68. The Circle: A Novel, Dave Eggers
69. The Little Paris Bookshop, Nina George
70. The Gender Game, Bella Forrest
71. My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel, Elizabeth Strout
72. Ross Poldark: A Novel, Winston Graham
73. Whip: A Novel, Karen Kondazian
74. Little Life: A Novel, Hanya Yanagihara
75. Shade of Blood, Bella Forrest
76. Spring Will Come, Ginny Dye
77. What She Left Behind, Ellen Marie Wiseman
78. Yellow Crocus, Laila Ibrahim
79. Origin, Dan Brown
80. Thirteen Reasons Why: A Novel, Jay Asher
81. The Nest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
82. Fall of Marigolds, Susan Meissner
83. The Green Ember, S. D. Smith
84. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
85. Infinite Jest: A Novel, David Foster Wallace
86. Before the Fall, Noah Hawley
87. Turtles All the Way Down, John Green
88. Into the Water, Paula Hawkins
89. The Marriage of Opposites: A Novel, Alice Hoffman
90. In a Dark, Dark Wood, Ruth Ware
91. The One, Kiera Cass
92. Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll
93. Warleggan: A Novel of Cornwall, 1792-1793, Winston Graham
94. Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
95. Calendar Girl, Audrey Carlen
96. The Secret Wife, Gill Paul
97. The Memory Box,  Eva Lesko Natiello
98. The Good Girl, Mary Kubica
99. A Spool of Blue Thread, Ann Tyler
100. The Sellout: A Novel, Paul Beatty