Libraries keep region reading in 2024

It was another busy chapter for Bundaberg Regional Libraries as member numbers climbed to 24,959 by the end of 2024.

Local libraries continued to offer a range of services, workshops and events with 920 public programs attended by 21,253 community members.

Regular children’s programs ran weekly as well as activities during school holidays and added events like Playtime @ the Library, Messy Play and First 5 Forever initiatives.

Technology and digital literacy programs were also on offer throughout the year as well as author events with talks from writers like Lucy Bloom and Karen Viggers.  

Libraries also supported the community through displays and exhibitions as well as celebrating organisations like Friends of the Library which marked four decades of delivering books to members unable to visit in person.

Top 10 books borrowed in 2024

There were 480,650 physical and 113,987 digital loans recorded at libraries throughout the region last year.

Mysteries and thrillers were once again the favourite genre for local readers, with James Patterson proving to be the most popular author at both Bundaberg and Childers libraries.

Fleur McDonald’s Voices in the Dark was the most loaned book at the Gin Gin Library while Shelly Burr’s Ripper took the top spot at the Woodgate Library.

Bundaberg Library Top 10

1. The Murder Inn by James Patterson
2. Holmes, Margaret & Poe by James Patterson
3. Diamond Promises by Anne Jacobs
4. Disorderly Conduct by Tessa Bailey
5. The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman
6. Paradise by Patricia Wolf
7. Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz
8. Voices in the Dark by Fleur McDonald
9. Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly
10. The Milliner of Bendigo by Darry Fraser

Childers Library Top 10

1. Crosshairs by James Patterson
2. Long Shadows by David Baldacci
3. Obsessed by James Patterson
4. Holmes, Margaret & Poe by James Patterson
5. Shattered by James Patterson
6. Simply Lies by David Baldacci
7. Better off Dead by Lee Child
8. The Secret by Lee Child
9. Diamond Promises by Anna Jacobs
10. Lion and Lamb by James Patterson

Gin Gin Library Top 10

1. Voices in the Dark by Fleur McDonald
2. Simply Lies by David Baldacci
3. Secrets of Whitewater Creek by Sarah Barrie
4. The Permaculture Garden by Linda Woodrow
5. The Edge by David Baldacci
6. The Secret by Lee Child
7. Back to School Snacks
8. Snowy Mountains Promise by Alissa Callen
9. The Last Station by Nicole Alexander
10. Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

Woodgate Library Top 10        

1. Ripper by Shelley Burr
2. Back on Track by Tricia Stringer
3. The Secret by Lee Child
4. Dark Rooms by Lynda La Plante
5. Think Twice by Harlan Coben
6. The Edge by David Baldacci
7. Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay
8. Drowned Lives by Stephen Booth
9. Tom Clancy: Red Winter by Marc Cameron
10. The Milliner of Bendigo by Darry Fraser

Find out more information about local libraries as well as upcoming events and information here.