I’ll admit it. I choose my books by their covers—or in particular, the green and blue badges that denote Peak Picks at my local Seattle Public Library branch. I’m not the only one, either. Since the program’s inauguration in 2017, 800 titles, ranging from en vogue novels to big-name memoirs to cookbooks, have been designated Peak Picks. They’ve been checked out over 1,000,000 times. 

The concept is simple: Certain new releases get a sticker with the Peak Picks logo, marking them as copies that cannot be placed on hold or renewed. They carry an abbreviated loan period of two weeks, rather than the typical three. Each month, about a dozen new titles join the ranks, and 60–70 books are part of the program at any given time.

Readers love it. “The idea of Peak Picks? Whoever it was should get a Nobel Prize,” wrote one SPL patron in an online feedback form.

Turns out, there are two tastemakers behind Peak Picks: SPL’s adult fiction and nonfiction selection librarians, each boasting over 15 years of experience in selecting materials for SPL’s ever-growing collection, and each choosing to remain anonymous—masked bibliophile superheroes. 

But the Peak Picks aren’t simply their personal favorites. When the program was designed, it was important to SPL staff to center book club–worthy new releases that often were available only to users who were wizards at placing holds. Previously, casual browsers, or book clubs needing a stack of copies, were out of luck for months while hold lists slowly shrank. 

“When you’re waiting for the latest bestseller, everybody wants to read it while it’s being discussed nationally, right? You want to read it while Oprah is reading it, or you aren’t part of the discussion,” technical services manager Kate Sellers says. 

Case in point: Sellers recalls receiving more than 200 copies of Michelle Obama’s Becoming memoir on its release day in November 2018. Staff rushed to process copies—placing the Peak Picks sticker on each cover—to get them on shelves the same day. 

The two Peak Pickers monitor trends year-round to anticipate the new releases that will resonate with Seattle readers. Often, these are national bestsellers that will land on celebrity reading lists, but the selection librarians also consider topics and authors relevant to a uniquely PNW audience. 

The duo short-lists about two dozen titles to add to the Peak Picks shelves each month, and a group of adult services librarians helps narrow that list down to the 10–12 standouts that will land on shelves. Books keep their Peak Picks status as long as demand is high: “For some books, that could be a year; for others, it could be six months,” Sellers says. 

Over the years, the program has evolved to include more nonfiction titles alongside the latest novels. Now, there’s usually a cookbook among the ranks. The program aims to both serve Seattle readers’ tastes and expand on them to introduce new voices and stories. 

I, for one, have picked up—and consequently fallen in love with—titles I wouldn’t have otherwise searched for, like Kristi Coulter’s memoir Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career, thanks to the librarians behind Peak Picks.