Research by category type
Buying, borrowing, and reading behaviour
We survey Canadian book buyers, readers, and library users to shed light on consumer and reader behaviour. Topics include: format use, interest in reading Canadian authors, and more.
Reading and social media
Reports on popular social media platforms and the book buyers who use them.
Sales and library circulation trends
We draw on current and historical information from SalesData & LibraryData to create market research reports, examining both annual trends and the impact of specific events (like awards) on sales and library circulation. Some studies also include information from consumer surveying.
Industry trends
We survey publishers, retailers, and book-industry professionals to report on industry trends.
Research blog posts
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Tell us about the state of Canadian publishing?
Take this survey to help us tell you how Canadian publishing has changed since the last time we released our report.
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How have Canadian readers been celebrating Pride Month in 2026?
It’s Pride Season across Canada and we wanted to look at how titles categorized under LGBTQ+ BISAC codes have been selling.
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Canada Day 2026: How have Canadian titles been performing over the last five years?
Sneak a peek at buying and borrowing numbers for Canadian titles to see how that has evolved over the last five years.
Looking for more?
Custom research reports
We can produce custom research reports to suit your needs. Need to measure the sales impact of a marketing campaign or literary award? Want to better understand the buying habits of Romance readers in Western Canada? Get in touch to learn how we can provide the insights you need using data from our tracking tools, SalesData & LibraryData, and our consumer and leisure surveys.
Research for subscribers
SalesData & LibraryData subscribers can access exclusive reports on the impact of awards, perennial bestsellers, backlist trends, market performance, year-over-year analysis, and more. These reports contain confidential information and are restricted to registered users of SalesData & LibraryData. You can find the password to the portal on the salesdata.ca or librarydata.ca home pages. Log in here.
Literary awards
Literary prizes have a significant importance in the Canadian book industry, which means we pay close attention to how nominations and wins impact sales. SalesData & LibraryData subscribers can access our annual reports on the sales impact of major literary prizes in the Research Portal. If you organize a book prize and would like to track its impact on sales, get in touch to discuss custom research possibilities.
You can browse a list of all BookNet Canada published research reports in our research archive.
Where does our research come from?
SalesData & LibraryData: SalesData collects weekly point-of-sales data from over 2,000 retail outlets across Canada, covering an estimated 85% of the Canadian trade print book market. LibraryData collects weekly circulation data from over 80 public libraries across Canada representing approximately 25% of the Canadian English-language population.
Online surveys: We regularly survey Canadians who read, buy, borrow, and listen to books to shed light on consumer behaviour and trends. We use this data in everything from blog posts and studies to custom reports and presentations. We also conduct industry surveys to get a picture of the Canadian English-language book market.
All reports copyright © BookNet Canada (ISNI: 0000000107013646), subject to individual terms of use.