Lane County Libraries Reveal Most-Borrowed Books and Items of 2025

Eugene Public Library and Springfield Public Library published their lists of most-borrowed items for 2025, offering a snapshot of what readers and borrowers in Lane County checked out most last year. In Eugene, top adult fiction titles included Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, North Woods by Daniel Mason, and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. New adult fiction favorites were The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny, Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout, and We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. Adult nonfiction in Eugene was led by An Immense World by Ed Yong, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jenette McCurdy, and The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. The library also published ranked selections for young adult and children’s books, magazines and movies.

Eugene’s Library of Things showed that non-traditional loans continued to gain traction: the most-borrowed items included a mobile Wi‑Fi hotspot, cultural passes to local institutions, and a Dash robot. Those items reflect an expanded role for public libraries as providers of digital access, cultural access and STEM resources alongside books and media. Springfield Public Library likewise shared separate top-title lists for adult fiction and adult nonfiction, signaling similar reading and borrowing patterns among its patrons.

For Lane County residents, these borrowing trends matter both culturally and economically. High circulation of memoirs and science titles points to sustained interest in personal narratives and popular science, while strong demand for hotspots signals continuing digital-access gaps. Mobile Wi‑Fi hotspots enable job searches, schoolwork and telehealth for households without reliable broadband, reducing barriers to employment and services. Cultural pass checkouts help sustain attendance at local museums and gardens, supporting the county’s cultural institutions and their associated economic activity.

Policy implications are immediate for local leaders and library trustees. Maintaining and expanding programs that lend technology and provide free cultural access requires stable funding and partnerships. As libraries add non-book items to their collections, operating costs and replacement schedules change; budgeting for these services will be important in upcoming fiscal planning cycles. Long-term, these borrowing patterns suggest public libraries in Lane County are evolving into hybrid information centers that combine literary programming with practical supports for digital inclusion and community engagement.

The lists provide a practical portrait of community demand in 2025, helping residents, nonprofits and policymakers gauge what types of materials and services support civic life in Lane County.