IPSWICH has spoken — and it’s barking with joy.
In a year dominated by big names and page-turning thrillers, Bluey: The Weekend bounded its way to the very top of Ipswich Libraries’ most-borrowed list for 2025, finishing equal first overall with a massive 440 physical loans.
For a city full of young families, it came as no surprise.
From well-worn couches to library reading nooks, Bluey has become part of everyday life in Ipswich — a shared language between parents, kids, grandparents and carers, all laughing along to stories that feel a little too familiar.
The enduring popularity of Bluey across Ipswich Libraries reflects more than just a hit TV show. It speaks to the way local families value stories that celebrate imagination, play, patience and connection — often set in scenes that feel unmistakably close to home.
Mayor Teresa Harding said the results highlighted just how central libraries — and children’s reading — are to Ipswich life.
“Families borrowing Bluey: The Weekend in huge numbers shows how much our community values shared reading experiences,” she said.
“Our residents borrowed more than 1.1 million physical items in 2025, and a significant portion of that was children’s material — all free, and all supporting learning, literacy and family time.”
Across Ipswich, Bluey books have become a familiar sight: tucked into prams, read aloud at bedtime, and clutched tightly by kids determined to return them to the library themselves.
The title’s popularity also reflects the strength of Ipswich Libraries as a community hub, particularly for young families navigating cost-of-living pressures.
With almost 800,000 visits recorded across the library network in 2025, Ipswich Libraries continue to be one of the city’s most loved — and most used — free services.
“Libraries are where a love of reading begins,” Mayor Harding said. “Seeing a book like Bluey: The Weekend borrowed again and again shows how these spaces support families right from those earliest years.”
While thrillers and adult fiction remained popular, Bluey’s ability to sit at the very top of the borrowing charts — shoulder to shoulder with international bestselling authors — underlined Ipswich’s strong focus on children, community and connection.
And with Ipswich continuing to grow, that love for Bluey — and the simple joy of story time — shows no sign of fading.
Because in Ipswich, sometimes the most powerful stories aren’t the loudest or longest — they’re the ones read on the floor, with a giggle, just before bedtime.
