Out goes the Aga

The wheels of libraries turn slowly, but they can take new directions. While the library loan lists for 2004-05 are full of familiar books, they also show seismic shifts in what people really want to read. Take favourite authors. With two million loans last year, and 14 books in the top 100, Jacqueline Wilson is settling comfortably into Catherine Cookson's throne as the library monarch, even though her highest ranking for a single book is 24. She is one of three children's authors to top one million loans, along with Mick Inkpen and Janet and Alan Ahlberg. The adult members of the exclusive 1m-plus club are James Patterson, Josephine Cox and Danielle Steel. They have some way to go to match Cookson's 17-year reign, which peaked at six million loans. Seven years after her death, Cookson has fallen out of the top 10 most-borrowed authors. Jim Parker, the registrar who compiles the figures, says her loans are in freefall. Readers are tiring of her formula, preferring the newer princesses of romance such as Cox and Steel.

In another significant shift in borrowing habits, Cookson's top 10 place is taken not by a romantic novelist but by John Grisham, the king of American thrillers. He is followed by compatriots Michael Connelly and Jeffery Deaver, as well as forensic crime writers Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs and James Patterson. Brits are benefiting from this insatiable taste for well-crafted crime novels - notably Ian Rankin. Although living writers are generally elbowing aside the ghosts of the saga giants, there has also been a notable resurrection. Georgette Heyer, whose Regency romances were the height of fashion in the 1930s and 40s, was the most borrowed classic author last year.

Her resurgence is due largely to a relaunch by publisher Arrow in early 2004. It ditched her downmarket book covers, instead adorning her novels with period oil-paintings to echo Philippa Gregory or Tracy Chevalier. (Fans of Heyer's light style include AS Byatt.)

In children's books, a handful of trusted gods reign supreme. As well as Mick Inkpen (of Kipper fame) and the Ahlbergs, Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and Nick Butterworth all feature in the overall top 20 most-borrowed authors. It is promising to see Francesca Simon moving up with her Horrid Henry series. JK Rowling doesn't yet feature, for the simple reason that she hasn't written enough books.

Non-fiction borrowing more readily reflects current whims. Here are offerings from bookshop stalwarts Bill Bryson, Lynne Truss and Kate Adie, plus the usual TV tie-ins, celebrity autobiographies and misery memoirs. And in the week that the new instalment of glamour model Jordan's memoirs went straight to number one, it is intriguing to see that library users are not immune to her charms.

Regional breakdowns give a glimpse of different tastes. For celebrity chefs, the southwest relies on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, whereas Londoners favour Nigella Lawson. The top health book in Scotland was How to Lower High Blood Pressure; in the southeast diabetes was the main concern; in Northern Ireland library-goers wanted help with Stress and Nervous Disorders.

The prize for the library book least likely to accrue overdue fines must go to hypnotist Paul McKenna's Change Your Life in Seven Days (the 15th most borrowed non-fiction book).

The tables are compiled by the Public Lending Right, which divides £6.59m between 18,578 authors. Because the largest payment is capped at £6,000, even the smallest writers can expect a payout. Unless, that is, their books are popular only in libraries not tracked by PLR, which bases its statistics on 25% of the UK's branches.

The PLR people may need to find some new libraries to monitor this year, because local authorities across the UK are preparing to close down at least 50 libraries in the latest round of budget cuts. They seem to be fulfilling their own prophecies of underinvestment and under-use. Yet the gloomy headlines about closures can obscure some real improvements. While loans are still falling by about 3% annually, the year-on-year decline has been halved. Some authorities, such as Northern Ireland, have managed to increase book borrowing. And overall the number of visitors to libraries has grown by 7% over the past four years.

Many new visitors are being attracted by Reading Partners, the pioneering group of librarians and publishers who are trying to transform the way libraries present themselves. Their events programme will blossom this year: Bloomsbury and Random House are running readers' days across the UK and Ireland, bringing together authors such as Joanna Trollope, editors and jacket designers to find out what readers want. The agency will also be examining the PLR figures to produce a "Borrowers Recommend" promotion across literary fiction, crime, romance and memoir. Running from May, it will highlight 18 lesser-known authors, half of whom will tour libraries to meet readers.

· Joel Rickett is deputy editor of The Bookseller