Record Number of Library Systems Exceeds One Million eBook Circulation for 2021 | News
CLEVELAND, January 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — A total of 121 public libraries and consortia based in seven countries and 37 U.S. states each lent more than one million ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines in 2021. This milestone was reached in partnership with Overdrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide and creator of the award-winning software Libby Reading App. Twenty-two library systems achieved Million+ Circulation status for the first time in 2021. All 121 Million+ Circulation libraries are based in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Germany.
Leading the profession for the ninth consecutive year, the Toronto Public Library achieved a new record in reader service with nearly 10 million digital titles in circulation. The highest year-on-year circulation growth (73%) was achieved by Verbund Öffntlicher Bibliotheken (VÖBB) Berlin, Germany. The Los Angeles Public Library retained the number one public library spot in the United States for the third year in a row. In addition, for the first time, students from four K-12 school districts in 2021 accessed over 1 million digital books with sora, the student reading app from OverDrive.
Contributing factors to this success include curation by librarians for each local market, reader enjoyment using the Libby app, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, concurrent community reading events and the public library-school links. “Librarians continued to innovate last year to serve record numbers of readers with increased access and greater availability of digital materials,” said lori franklin, chief operating officer of OverDrive. “Through OverDrive Marketplace analytics and multiple lending models, librarians and educators circulated over 500 million ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines at a lower average cost per read.”
The full list of Million+ Circulation libraries is available here. The most popular ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines can be found here.
Top 10 library systems distributing ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in 2021:
- Toronto Public Library
- National Library Council Singapore
- Los Angeles Public Library
- King County Library System (WA)
- New York Public Library
- Multnomah County Library (OR)
- Seattle Public Library
- Harris County Public Library (TX)
- Calgary Public Library (Alberta, Canada)
- Central Mainland Public Library (MO)
Top 5 consortia circulating ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in 2021:
- MELSA: Twin towns Metro eLibrary (MN)
- The Ohio Digital Library
- Wisconsin Public Libraries Consortium
- Greater Phoenix Digital Library
- Tennessee BED
Library systems achieve Million+ Circulation status for eBooks for the first time:
- Arkansas Digital Library Consortium
- eIndiana Digital Consortium
- Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library System
- Dayton Subway Library
- Fraser Valley Regional Library
- Nebraska OverDrive Libraries
- Winnipeg Public Library
- Western Australian Public Libraries
- Indiana Digital Download Center
- Fort Worth Public Library
- Jacksonville Public Library
- Brisbane City Council Library Services
- Okanagan Regional Library (Canada)
- Louisville Free Public Library
- NI Libraries (North Ireland)
- Baltimore County Public Library
- Kent District Library
- The Library Consortium (UK)
- Verbund Öffentlicher Bibliotheken (VÖBB) Berlin
- Houston Public Library
- Georgia Download Destination
- MELSA: Twin towns Metro Online Library
To find a public library near you, download the Libby app (iOS, Android) or visit www.overdrive.com.
About OverDrive
OverDrive strives to create “a world lit by reading”. Serving a growing network of 76,000 libraries and schools in 94 countries, OverDrive offers the industry’s largest digital catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and other content through award-winning apps. the Libby reading app for libraries is one of Popular mechanics’20 best apps of the decade, the sora student reading app is one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2019, and Kanopi is the leading video streaming app for libraries and colleges. Acquired in 2021, TeachBooks.net offers one of the largest catalogs of supplemental materials that improve literacy outcomes. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio United States and was named Certified B Corp in 2017. www.overdrive.com
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SOURCE Overdrive
