About these reading lists

What this is

CHPL Reading Lists takes celebrated reading lists — starting with the Newbery Medal and Honor books — and matches every title to what the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library actually owns, so a reading group can see at a glance what they can borrow. Each title shows its cover, the formats the library holds (book, large print, audiobook, ebook…), how many items the library owns, and a direct link to the catalog. A simple idea: take a great list, and quietly answer “can we get these here?” for every book on it.

Who made it

Made by Ray Voelker, a library technology professional who works with Sierra ILS, library data systems, and open-source tools like Datasette. Find him on GitHub at @rayvoelker or reach him at ray.voelker@gmail.com.

What we’re dreaming up next (ideas we’re exploring)

• Mint your own lists — build your own reading lists and share them, or keep them private.
• Educator cards — let teachers and educators mint their own space for their reading groups: keep your student lists private and local if you like, share only the details you choose, all linked back through your library card.

These are things we’d love to add — exploring, not promised yet.