'Hillbilly Elegy' generates high interest at Westmoreland, Allegheny libraries

Since former President Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, Vance’s memoir has generated attention at local libraries.

The 2016 book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” tells the story of Vance’s family roots in Kentucky, his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and the social and socioeconomic problems of the white working class. A movie adaptation was released in 2020.

The Allegheny County Library Association, which houses 46 independent public libraries, has 60 eBook copies, nearly 100 physical copies and nearly 60 audiobook copies of the title. All of them are checked out, according to the online catalog.

Across the association, there are more than 590 holds on the eBook, nearly 600 holds on the audiobook and nearly 420 holds on the physical book.

Hoopla — a digital library service offering movie, TV shows, music and audiobooks — lists “Hillbilly Elegy” under the “popular eBooks” section on its website.

There are 70 holds on the book within the Westmoreland Library Network, which has 28 copies across its 26-member library system. Almost all of the eBook and digital audiobook versions of the title are available through the Libby app, but there are four holds for the CD audiobook.

On July 15, the day Trump named 39-year-old Vance as his running mate, there was only one copy of the book checked out across the library network.

The next day, there were 32 holds placed on the title, said Jamie Falo, director for the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library.

“I remember when it came out in the fall of 2016, it was on the New York Times bestseller list for quite a while,” Falo said.

The library hosted several group book discussions when the memoir was published, Falo said — an opportunity they might provide again if library patrons continue to express interest in the title.

The book has been checked out of the library network more than 1,000 times since it came to shelves, Falo said, although it is hard to pin down the exact circulation.

Libraries tend to purchase several copies of a book when it is first published and pass them along when the demand for it decreases, she said. The Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library, for example, had about six copies in 2016. Circulation records do not reflect the copies that have been removed from the library network, Falo said.

Libraries may also rent multiple copies of a book when it is released and return them when circulation decreases, said Tracy Trotter, director of Adams Memorial Library in Latrobe.

As soon as Vance was selected as running mate, one of Trotter’s longtime patrons called to have the book put on hold. She said readers are curious to know more about the potential second-in-command of the country.

“People all want to read the same thing at the same time, and libraries only have very limited budgets,” Trotter said of the long hold list.

Sarah Buzzard, director for the Mt. Pleasant Public Library, said it is not uncommon for new books to receive similar numbers of holds, if not more.

“The Women” by Kristin Hannah, for example, has nearly 200 holds on eBook and 45 holds on the physical book. It was published in February.

“Big authors like that, when they have books come out, holds are over 100,” Buzzard said.

But the 70-hold figure on Vance’s memoir is impressive, she said, considering the book was published eight years ago.

“For new books, that number is not a shock,” Buzzard said. “For older books, it is.”

Jordan Burt, children’s librarian for Delmont Public Library, said 70 holds is significant.

The book has been checked out of the Delmont library twice this month, she said. Prior to that, it had not been checked out in more than a year.

The book may have last received widespread attention within the library network when the movie was released, Burt said.

“If there’s a movie coming out for a book,” she said, “it does usually see an uptick in that kind of fashion.”

The “Hillbilly Elegy” movie is available only on Netflix. The streaming service acquired the movie’s distribution rights in 2019, before filming started.

The film reentered Netflix’s top 10 most-watched movie list after Vance was announced as running mate, according to People.

The New Florence Community Library posted on its Facebook, encouraging Netflix to release the distribution rights.

“Out here, internet is spotty or weak and many of our patrons cannot afford streaming services,” the post said. “Please consider releasing ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’ … We have been fielding calls requesting it.”