If the community’s New Year’s resolution is to make more trips to the library in 2026 than in 2025, that will be a significant number to beat, according to data from the Robbins Library. Last year, Arlington residents checked out a total of 1,016,846 books and films, a 4 percent increase from 2024.
According to the Robbins library website, this achievement makes Arlington one of just five Massachusetts communities to break the million mark in checkouts.
This rise in library visits follows trends seen throughout the entire country. According to the Urban Libraries Council’s 2025 insight report, 2025 saw a 9.8 percent increase in visitors, a 25 percent increase in room reservations, and a 14.8 percent increase in demand for digital resources.
“It’s a real joy for staff to serve the community in Arlington. Library staff aim to provide collections that meet the evolving needs and interests of our community,” said Lara Vilahomat, assistant director of Robbins and Fox Branch libraries. “Our staff know that books and other library materials will be well-used and well-loved by the voracious readers of Arlington.”
According to Vilahomat, the most checked-out book for adults was James, written by Percival Everett. The historical fiction novel is a retelling of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written in the perspective of the enslaved character Jim, renamed in this work to James. The book, published in 2024, was a New York Times bestseller and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction.
In film, the most popular selection Arlington adults checked-out was Conclave, directed by Edward Berger. The political thriller, released in 2024, follows the hidden agendas and personal ambitions of the Cardinals during their process of electing a new Catholic Pope.
And out of the 1,049 programs the library hosted in 2025 (which had a total of approximately 27,000 attendees of all ages) the most popular event was the Rumbarroco concert last January. More than 125 people gathered at Town Hall that afternoon to enjoy the performance from the Latin-Baroque fusion ensemble.
The top 10 most checked out books and films for adult, teens and children in Arlington, according to of Robbins Library records, are listed below.
Robbins Library’s top ten most popular books in 2025:
Adult books
1. James, Percival Everett
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt (2025’s Arlington Reads Together title)
3. The Wager, David Gann
4. The Women, Kristen Hannah
5. Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Shelf Love, Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi
6. Hot Sheet, Olga Massov
7. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver
8. Cook, Eat, Repeat, Nigella Lawson
9. Myers + Chang at Home, Joanne Chang
10: Yellowface, R.F. Kuang
Teen books
1. Case Closed, Gōshō Aoyama
2. Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima
3. Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama
4. Komi Can’t Communicate, Tomohito Oda
5. One-Punch Man, ONE
6. Blue Lock, Kaneshiro, Muneyuki
7. Spy x Family, Tatsuya Endō
8. Black Butler, Yana Toboso
9. Delicious in Dungeon, Ryoko Kui
10. Haikyu!!, Haruichi Furudate
Children’s books:
1. Minecraft: a kids graphic novel, Sfé R. Monster
2. Dog Man: Fetch-22, Dav Pilkey
3. Pokemon Journeys, Machito Gomi
4. An Elephant & Piggie Book: Are You Ready to Play Outside?, Mo Willems
5. An Elephant & Piggie Book: Should I Share My Ice Cream?, Mo Willems
6. Chi’s Sweet Adventures, Kinoko Natsume
7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot, Jeff Kinney
8. An Elephant & Piggie Book: The Thank You Book, Mo Willems
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Deep End, Jeff Knney
10. Cat Kid Comic Club, Dav Pilkey
Robbins Library top ten most popular films in 2025:
Adult/all ages movies:
1. Conclave
2. Wicked
3. The Substance
4. The Wild Robot
5. Nosferatu
6. Black Bag
7. Saturday Night
8. Juror #2
9. Inside Out 2
10. Moana 2
Children’s movies
1. Encanto
2. Frozen II
3. Cars
4. Kiki’s Delivery Service
5. Paw Patrol: Pups Save Puplantis
6. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
7. Ratatouille
8. Frozen
9. Tonari no Totoro = My neighbor Totoro
10. Monsters, Inc.
This story was published on Jan. 9, 2026.
