The Complete 500: OCLC

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

OCLC, 495 Books

This list is from OCLC and is a bit different than most lists on this site. OCLC is a global library organization that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large. This list is based on how many libraries have a copy of a book on their shelves. Here's their own description:

What makes a novel “great”? At OCLC, we believe literary greatness can be measured by how many libraries have a copy on their shelves.
Yes, libraries offer access to trendy and popular books. But, they don’t keep them on the shelf if they’re not repeatedly requested by their communities over the years. We’ve identified 500 timeless, top novels—those found in thousands of libraries around the world—using WorldCat, the world’s largest database of library materials'.

This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site about 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
765 The Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough 1977 Australian English
14815 Old Yeller Fred Gipson 1956 American English
17120 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 Beverly Cleary 1981 American English
240 Death in Venice Thomas Mann 1912 German German
16858 By The Shores Of Silver Lake Laura Ingalls Wilder 1939 American English
30 The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri 1308 Italian Italian
1028 Schindler's List Thomas Keneally 1982 Australian English
1255 Jonathan Livingston Seagull Richard Bach 1970 American English
274 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American English
17120 The Last Juror John Grisham 2004 American English
17120 Shiloh Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 1991 American English
7005 The Girl With The Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier 1999 British English
251 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie 1926 British English
981 It Stephen King 1986 American English
14984 The Rainmaker John Grisham 1995 American English
878 The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver 1998 American English
17120 The Indian In The Cupboard Lynne Reid Banks 1980 British English
142 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett 1930 American English
3110 The Warden Anthony Trollope 1855 British English
17120 The Summons John Grisham 2002 American English
14169 Encyclopedia Brown Donald J. Sobol 1963 American English
1675 The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger 2003 American English
14972 The Incredible Journey Sheila Burnford 1961 Canadian English
14984 Daughter Of Fortune Isabel Allende 1999 Chilean Spanish
2458 Shirley Charlotte Brontë 1849 British English
14984 Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis 1999 American English
5391 The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans 1995 British English
17120 The Street Lawyer John Grisham 1998 American English
245 Nausea Jean Paul Sartre 1938 French French
14876 To Have And Have Not Ernest Hemingway 1937 American English
4190 The Bridges Of Madison County Robert James Waller 1992 American English
2676 Anne Of The Island L. M. Montgomery 1915 Canadian English
5110 The Winter Of Our Discontent John Steinbeck 1961 American English
400 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
1103 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Brontë 1848 British English
17120 First Family David Baldacci 2009 American English
17120 The Partner John Grisham 1997 American English
7021 The Girl On The Train Paula Hawkins 2015 British English
16929 The Black Arrow Robert Louis Stevenson 1883 British English
2615 The Rise Of Silas Lapham William Dean Howells 1885 American English
17120 The Choice Nicholas Sparks 2007 American English
1440 The Virginian Owen Wister 1902 American English
14984 A Walk To Remember Nicholas Sparks 1999 American English
14984 The Maze Runner James Dashner 2009 American English
5616 The Westing Game Ellen Raskin 1978 American English
16946 Misty Of Chincoteague Marguerite Henry 1947 American English
696 King Solomon's Mines H. Rider Haggard 1885 British English
284 The Princess of Cleves Madame de La Fayette 1678 French French
2808 Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson 1980 American English
14228 Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of Nimh Robert C. O'Brien 1971 American English
1086 Misery Stephen King 1987 American English
2482 The Cider House Rules John Irving 1985 American English
16973 King Of The Wind Marguerite Henry 1948 American English
286 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British English
1931 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
3826 The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman 1997 British English
14232 When You Reach Me Rebecca Stead 2009 American English
1688 Carrie Stephen King 1974 American English
2490 The Moon And Sixpence W. Somerset Maugham 1919 British English
17120 The Higher Power Of Lucky Susan Patron 2006 American English
3294 Looking Backward, 2000 1887 Edward Bellamy 1888 American English
261 Wings of the Dove Henry James 1902 American English
16985 The Summer Of The Swans Betsy Cromer Byars 1970 American English
210 Dangerous Liaison Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 French French
1531 Jurassic Park Michael Crichton 1990 American English
2650 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie 2007 American English
2470 The Grey King Susan Cooper 1975 British English
56 The Leopard Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa 1958 Italian Italian
14984 The Mammoth Hunters Jean M. Auel 1985 American English
14969 The Trumpet Of The Swan E. B. White 1970 American English
17120 The Lucky One Nicholas Sparks 2008 American English
17000 These Happy Golden Years Laura Ingalls Wilder 1943 American English
1656 Arrowsmith Sinclair Lewis 1925 American English
7703 Julie Of The Wolves Jean Craighead George 1972 American English
3127 The Screwtape Letters C. S. Lewis 1942 British English
796 The Fall Albert Camus 1956 French French
4855 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith 1998 Scottish English
17120 Worst Case James Patterson 2010 American English
828 Lost Horizon James Hilton 1933 British English
7782 The Gunslinger Stephen King 1982 American English
17023 The Slave Dancer Paula Fox 1973 American English
1755 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling 2005 British English
8994 Inkheart Cornelia Funke 2003 German German
17120 Ramona And Her Father Beverly Cleary 1977 American English
17120 Inkspell Cornelia Funke 2005 German German
13931 Ramona The Pest Beverly Cleary 1968 American English
14984 Walk Two Moons Sharon Creech 1994 American English
6295 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs 2011 American English
17041 The Chocolate War Robert Cormier 1974 American English
803 Sophie's Choice William Styron 1979 American English
7683 Looking for Alaska John Green 2005 American English
704 Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote 1958 American English
410 The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham 1944 British English
14984 Dreamcatcher Stephen King 2001 American English
95 Orlando Virginia Woolf 1928 British English
648 The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien 1990 American English
17052 Little Town On The Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 1941 American English
17120 Nights In Rodanthe Nicholas Sparks 2002 American English
2969 The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman 2000 British English
4631 The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane Kate DiCamillo 2006 American English
1476 Flatland Edwin A. Abbott 1884 British English
5618 Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney 2007 American English
14984 The Memory Keeper's Daughter Kim Edwards 2005 American English
17120 The Wedding Nicholas Sparks 2003 American English
4298 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Fannie Flagg 1987 American English
14893 The Cricket In Times Square George Selden 1960 American English
522 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster 1961 American English
1779 Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott 1817 British English
349 The Death of Ivan Ilyich Leo Tolstoy 1886 Russian Russian
17120 Alex Cross's Trial James Patterson 2009 American English
6181 Kenilworth Sir Walter Scott 1821 British English
51 The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy Laurence Sterne 1759 British English
204 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro 1989 British English
14983 M.C. Higgins, The Great Virginia Hamilton 1974 American English
17093 Call It Courage Armstrong Sperry 1940 American English
17120 Go Set A Watchman Harper Lee 2015 American English
17120 Bleachers John Grisham 2003 American English
17120 Elijah Of Buxton Christopher Paul Curtis 2007 American English
17120 Swimsuit James Patterson 2009 American English
681 Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut 1963 American English