Orange book shop and library riding high amid reading resurgence

Sales are up, library membership has spiked, and discussion groups for children and adults are reporting rapid growth.

"It's actually a really special time to be writing," resident and New York Times best-selling novelist Kelly Rimmer said.

So what is driving the trend?

Margaret Schwebel, co-owner of Collins book shop on Summer Street, believes a once-in-a-generation pandemic reignited the town's love for fiction.

"From the time COVID hit, people turned to reading ... a lot were sick of looking at screens all day in Zoom meetings and just wanted to get away from it all," she said.

"Every time you turned on the news there was ... people dying and getting sick, so everyone was using it as a way to escape.

"It was phenomenal; people were coming in and saying 'I haven't read a book in 20 years - what do you recommend?'"

Ms Schwebel revealed sales at her store grew 20 to 40 per cent over the period, and said interest hasn't faded since: "Classic novel The Plague actually went up 1000 [per cent]!"

Meanwhile, the public Orange Library has seen its membership climb to 27,319 in 2022 - more than six per cent over pre-pandemic levels.

"We have seen a post-lockdown spike ... our evidence [shows] reading continues to hold its own, with lending numbers in-line with other collections and steadily increasing," librarian Sean Brady said.

Mr Brady reports crime fiction is currently the most popular genre with readers in Orange, followed by romance - Collins Books meanwhile notes an uptick for interest in WWII history.

The wider Central West Libraries network - which includes outposts in Blayney, Cowra, Molong, and Forbes - has loaned 261,437 books to members during the past 12 months.

Approximately 68,000 of those were to young children, with the events Storytimes for Babies (0-5yo) and Inklings Children's Bookclub (7-12yo) continuing to attract crowds.

"We read always," Hudson Carr from Orange Preschool said. "I like this book because I like all of the bunnies," classmate Addison Bettinzoli explained.

Demand for ebooks and audiobooks also climbed during the pandemic, with loans increasing 25 per cent at the height of lockdown - a time when in-person borrowing fell 16 per cent.

However, most members of the local Pageturners reading group - which has doubled its weekly sessions in recent months - insist they continue to prefer the "real thing."

"I like the tactileness of a physical book ... just being able to flick through - the feel and the smell," said Jan Fenwick. "I think 95 per cent think that way," Peggy Gough added.

Kelly Rimmer - one of Australia's most successful authors with more than 1.75 million sales - lives locally, and is convinced the region promotes a culture of literacy.

"The Central West boasts so many brilliant storytellers - it's possible there's some magic in the Wiradjuri country soil.

"It may be the case that the support I enjoy from the Orange community is my 'secret weapon' for writing.

"... Reading helps children [in Orange] understand the world around them ... when times are tough or tiring, reading can help them escape into other worlds."

For their part, Orange's two biggest book suppliers are not concerned kids - or anyone else - will struggle to find quality material any time soon.

"[The digital age] isn't a threat to us because it's about the experience of coming into a physical book shop," Collins owner Ms Schwebel said.

"When people come in here from Sydney and don't have a local bookshop anymore, they are just so amazed and thrilled ... the person-to-people is to me irreplaceable."

"For children, often they will come and be reluctant, but we can work with them to find a book that hooks them in - and then they're a happy little reader.

Librarian Sean Brady added: "We're optimistic about the future of libraries in the digital age because there will always be a thirst for knowledge and education.

"Central Western Libraries will continue to be the shining light for the community in a climate of rising costs, economic pressures, environmental and health issues and the uncertainty that brings.

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