Potter Books Realize Fantasy for Librarians

One group of adults may be wilder about Harry Potter than the millions of young people whose fascination with the aspiring adolescent wizard have made the books a worldwide phenomenon: librarians.

Across Southern California, those who love reading couldn’t be more delighted by the buzz J.K. Rowling’s popular series has generated for literature, especially among children.

“I think it’s created a movement that reading this book is positive,” said Starrett Kreissman, director of the Ventura County Public Library. “Since we are in the business of encouraging children to read, we are thrilled.”

Nearly 4 million copies of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the fourth installment of the popular series, were released July 8. Media hype about the book’s premiere helped create a national frenzy in which some eager readers camped overnight in front of bookstores to ensure they got their hands on a copy. Many local retailers sold out immediately, and some, including the Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Thousand Oaks, are still awaiting another shipment.

Librarians said they are thrilled because it’s not every day a book--particularly one not based on a movie or cartoon character--captures the imagination of so many young people, from preteens to college students. That’s evident both by the record-breaking number of Harry Potter books libraries are buying and the unprecedented number of kids willing to wait to borrow one.

“They are using reading as a way of exciting their imaginations,” said Lori Karns, support services manager for the Ventura County Public Library. “They’re having to work to make meaningful pictures, whereas TV just feeds it to them. And the language itself in Harry Potter is lots of fun.”

Ventura County’s 15-branch system purchased 91 copies of the latest Harry Potter title--the greatest number ever for any children’s book--which gives this area more copies into circulation, at least for now, than Los Angeles or Orange county, Kreissman said. Thirty-four people are on a waiting list to check one out.

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As Los Angeles County library officials wait for their 112-copy shipment of the in-demand book, librarians there have purchased as many as possible with money from private donor groups. One librarian was so eager to get the books in circulation at her branch that she entered a Harry Potter look-a-like contest at a local retailer and won four copies, said Donna Banos, a regional youth services coordinator for Los Angeles County.

There are now 63 of the books in Los Angeles County’s 87-branch system, but they are all checked out and 399 people are waiting for a copy on reserve.

“Children tend to not put in requests, because they are really more in the moment,” Banos said. “To see that many requests for a children’s book is really incredible.”

Orange County now has 90 copies for its 27 branches, but 250 young people are waiting in line for one, said Dani Porter, community relations coordinator for the county’s public library. Usually, the most the system ever purchases of one title is five to 10 copies, she said.

Municipal libraries throughout the region have similar stories to tell, although on a smaller scale. Thousand Oaks’ public library owns 24 copies of “Goblet of Fire,” and all are checked out, with 21 people on a waiting list. In Oxnard, there are 13 holds for eight copies of the book.

Librarians haven’t wasted any time taking advantage of this newfound captive audience. Ventura County is distributing free bookmarks and fliers that read: “If you liked ‘Harry Potter,’ you’ll love . . . “ followed by a list of dozens of other children’s titles.

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The same is true in Orange County, where the library’s Web site encourages Harry Potter fans to explore more than 30 other titles. Banos said Los Angeles County libraries all have been given money to develop “Harry Potter” reading programs, and some branches created displays with the slogan, “While you wait for ‘Harry Potter,’ try these books . . . “

“Reading is really a key skill, and children who can read are much more likely to exceed in school,” Kreissman said. “Anything that encourages that reading is great. And Harry Potter is even better, because it’s a book so many children want to read.”

The popularity of Harry Potter at the region’s libraries is at least partly because a number of parents cannot afford to purchase the 752-page hardback, Kreissman said. Prices range from $15 to $26, depending on the store.

“I’m sure many children’s families don’t have $26 to buy this book, and judging by the fact that all of ours are checked out or on hold, I would say there are lots” of families in that situation in Ventura County, she said.

Many book lovers said the attention on “Goblet” has generated more interest in the first three Harry Potter stories, which readers are also checking out at a rapid pace.

Reading advocates acknowledge this isn’t the first time kids have been excited about a book. But Harry Potter is different from the “Goosebumps” series or “Pokemon” books, some say, because of the quality of the literature.

“A lot of other things that are popular start out in a different medium and then become a book,” Banos said. “But this started out as a good book, and that’s why we’re so excited about it.”

“Harry Potter is not as fluffy as some other children’s books,” said Mary-Pat Gonzalez, a children’s librarian in Huntington Beach. “And it’s made them brave enough to read a thick book.”

Jody Shapiro, who has owned the bookstore Adventures for Kids in Ventura for 22 years, agreed.

“I’ve just found it has been a very positive thing to see kids get excited about a thick book--they’re happy it’s big,” she said. “It defies all previous notions that kids won’t read hardbacks, kids won’t read thick books, boys won’t read. It’s certainly better they are reading than playing mindless video games.”

Liz White, a 13-year-old from Ojai, is an example of why adults are excited. She has sped through all four books in the Harry Potter series--including the latest installment, despite its having been out only a week and a half.

Her 12-year-old brother wanted to read it so much that he “bribed” her with pictures from his comic book magazine to finish it in four days.

And Liz rose to the challenge.

“It was really good,” she said. “I like it because it’s about magic, and there’s always a twist at the end.”