What Are the Wichita Library's Most Stolen Books?

Librarians like to keep track of things, so they keep track of what people steal from public libraries. It tells a bit, maybe, about who we are as a people. Years ago, in cities all around the country, libraries recorded that one of the most-often stolen items from a public library was The Bible. God bless us all.

Not these days, though. The Bible no longer even cracks the Top 20.

Cynthia Berner, Wichita Library Director, keeps meticulous tabs on what gets stolen from the Wichita Library. 

Here’s Berner’s top ten list of most-stolen library items in the last year:

1. Cracking the GED: 56 in the catalog, 37 lost
2. Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss, 45 in the catalog, 27 lost
3. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James, 41 in the catalog, 27 lost
4. A Child Called “It,” by David Pelzer, 37 in the catalog, 27 lost
5. The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene, 29 in the catalog, 21 lost
6. Peterson’s Master the GED: 22 in the catalog, 19 lost
7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #4, by Jeff Jinney, 37 in the catalog, 19 lost
8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2, by Jeff Kinney, 33 in the catalog, 18 lost
9. Twilight #1, by Stephenie Meyer, 33 in the catalog, 18 lost
10. 10. Barron’s ASVAB: 20 in the catalog, 16 lost