Library Explainer: A Peek at Picking Peak Picks

Editor’s note: This is a new, occasional series that looks behind the scenes at the Library to explain something readers want to know about. Have a burning Library question? Email communications@spl.org.

If you’ve visited one of our neighborhood libraries in the past few years, you’ve likely noticed a display of Peak Picks books and stopped to browse or check out one (or five!) of the titles. It’s easy to spot: Just look for the bright blue and green logo with two peaks and the tagline: “no holds. no wait.”

That’s the promise of the Library’s wildly popular Peak Picks program: New and popular books you can check out right away – first come, first served – at any branch in our system.

Peak Picks began in 2017, designed by a cross-Library team led by Collection Services Manager Elena Gutierrez. The team made decisions on elements such as types of titles, guidelines for checkout, pilot locations, promotion and the complex logistics involved in a rapidly moving collection. Initially piloted at eight locations, within a year Peak Picks expanded to all branches (and our Bookmobile).

Peak Picks is billed as “Bestsellers and More,” and the Library works to provide both with our picks. The Selection Services librarians who curate Peak Picks select titles by popular authors with loyal readership and highly anticipated books that we expect will be widely promoted in the media. (Think Michael Pollan’s This Is Your Mind on Plants, our most highly circulated Peak Pick title in the past few months.)

We also choose titles that we expect to be of interest and importance to our local patrons, even if they may not be national bestsellers. (A nonfiction example from the current lineup is the graphic memoir Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness, by Kristen Radtke.)

This dual focus allows us to make sure our patrons are able to participate in the broader cultural conversation while we also amplify underrepresented and marginalized voices and highlight local and regional authors that provide a uniquely Seattle perspective.

How are Peak Picks picked? We survey the publishing landscape year round and maintain lists of potential candidates. Because of the shorter loan period (two instead of three weeks), we shy away from titles 400 pages or longer. Very heavy or oversize books that are hard to display are also not ideal. And our vendors need to have sufficient stock on hand to support large orders (up to 200 copies per title).

When it’s time to consider books for a particular month, selectors will choose about two dozen titles as candidates, with the goal of selecting six to ten Peak Picks titles per month (we have 50-60 active Peak Picks titles at any given time). A group of our Adult Services Librarians provide feedback, considering the level of interest in each title, how it fits with the current composition of Peak Picks titles and how it contributes to an overall collection of diverse authors and viewpoints.

We make final selections months before publication date so that copies are available when the title is first released and interest is at its, yes, peak.

During the pandemic, we worked hard to bring Peak Picks to Curbside Service, understanding how important the program was to our patrons. By displaying up to 10 Peak Picks on a daily “menu,” patrons could request their titles on the spot while picking up their holds.

Peak Picks has been popular since it launched, but instead of taking my word for it, here’s a comment from a patron who took the time to write us.

“I have read many of these books since the program started. As soon as I finish I return the book so the next reader can enjoy. It’s a wonderful idea. Thank you!”

New Peak Picks for November

Want to check out what’s new on the Peak Picks shelves?

See our recent post on new nonfiction for November, which spotlights hot Peak Picks titles such as Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, Seattle-based Peter Robison’s investigative report into Boeing in Flying Blind and Faith Jones’s Sex Cult Nun.

Our post on new fiction for November includes new Peak Picks titles All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M Morris, The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.

Or, of course, just stop by your nearest Seattle Public Library location.

– Frank