Howard County Library

Pass the Book by the Numbers – May 13, 2011

We have some things to celebrate at Pass the Book this week. Since Pass the Book began in October 2009, books have been registered and passed more than 500 times! Book 1169, registered in Laurel, MD on May 9 was the 500th book registered.

Seven copies of Pay the Piper have been passed since we last checked in on April 22nd, and one book has been registered for the fifth time.

1048 Ellicott City, MD, USA 2011-04-27 16:19:23
969 Silver Spring, MD, USA 2011-05-04 22:00:29
810 Bradford, IL 61421, USA 2011-05-07 01:42:22
1176 Laurel, MD 20723, USA 2011-05-09 02:02:13
1169 Laurel, MD 20723, USA 2011-05-09 02:04:16
1081 Ellicott City, MD, USA 2011-05-09 23:37:51
1158 Houston, TX 77054, USA 2011-05-10 22:57:48

Three books were registered for the first time, and four familiar copies re-appeared. Book 810 was registered in Illinois for a third time. Book 969 moved from College Park, MD to Silver Spring, and book 1081 was re-registered in Ellicott City. Book 1158 was re-registered too.


Book 1158 became our first book registered in Texas, when it found a home in Houston after being passed for the fifth time, 1200 miles from Henderson, Nevada. Book 1158 has now had five different owners and traveled 3500 miles, and Texas becomes the tenth state to host a copy of Pay the Piper. Copies of Pay the Piper have been registered in Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

Here are our current totals:

- Secret Hour Pay the Piper Total
Active Copies 235 132 367
Number of Passes 339 163 502
Passed Twice 61 23 84
Passed Three Times 17 4 21
Passed Four Times 4 1 – Book 1073 6
Passed Five Times 1 – Book 446 1 – Book 1158 -
Passed Six Times 1 – Book 562 - -
Participating States 17 10 -
Participating Countries 8 5 -

Keep reading, registering and passing the book! We’re watching to see where these books pop up next!

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