Overdrive has announced that since the year 2000, they have facilitated over 3 billion eBook checkouts. These have been borrowed by millions of readers from libraries around the world through OverDrive and the Libby reading app. More readers than ever before are borrowing ebooks and audiobooks from their local library through the Libby app. Back in 2012, OverDrive celebrated 100 million checkouts, and a few short years later in 2018 after unveiling the new, user-friendly Libby app, surpassed 1 billion checkouts. And just this year in 2022, that number reached over 3 billion.
Digital borrowing has been growing for years since the early 2000s and accelerated during the height of the pandemic, with stay-at-home orders and library branch shutdowns offering an opportune time for many to try eBooks for the first time. But the trend has continued on, even after library buildings reopened their doors, with readers of all ages continuing to discover titles they can borrow instantly. This milestone is all thanks to libraries and the work that librarians do daily to get books in hands of every reader as easily and conveniently as possible.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
