The OCLC (or Online Computer Library Center) compiled a list of the top 100 novels of all time, as identified by how many libraries carry them in circulation. Thousands of library shelves were browsed to compile the list of “timeless, top novels—those found in thousands of libraries around the world.”

Here’s the top 10 just to give you an idea:

1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson
6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
9. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
10. The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

None of these books should really come as a surprise. They’re THE classics. The ones everyone is SUPPOSED to read; even if we don’t always get the chance to. If you’re a library (any library) you’re kind of expected to have a few copies of these on your shelves. Just in case.

Ironically, what started out as a list of 100 books has since been extended to 500 books. Curious about what #500 is? Deception Point by Dan Brown (one of his five books on the list).