Wow! Over 1 Million Checkouts of Digital Reads with Libby in 2024
Posted on February 12, 2025 at 6:00 am
New Digital Milestone
We’re thrilled to announce that our library customers have surpassed 1 million digital checkouts in 2024 on the Libby app and on OverDrive. This landmark number underscores our community’s embrace and continuing adoption of digital reading.
Our community’s enthusiasm for reading has been substantial, matched by the ongoing efforts of Spokane County Library District (SCLD) to meet our readers where they are and offer easy access to beloved stories, popular authors, and trending titles.
Each year as demand for digital content grows, SCLD allots more of its budget to deliver digital items to our community of readers. By reaching over 1 million digital checkouts, SCLD joins a select group of public libraries worldwide achieving this prestigious milestone.
About Libby & OverDrive
The library reading app Libby enables you to access a vast collection of eBooks and audiobooks for free with your in-district library card on devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and some eReaders.
The award-winning Libby app is designed to offer easy access. Readers of all ages can find something they’ll enjoy. Explore bestsellers, learn something new, and listen on the go. The app offers features such as offline access, customizable reading settings with adjustable font sizes, listening speeds and more, and options for those with reading differences such as dyslexia, making it inclusive for all readers.
You can access Libby by downloading the app or visiting OverDrive on the web and signing in with your library card number and password.
Checkout Numbers with Libby & OverDrive
Since 2019, the number of digital checkouts by customers using OverDrive and the Libby app has increased by over a half million to 1,065,173 in 2024.
You can see the progression of annual checkouts each year from 2019 to 2024 in the chart below.
At the time of this posting, SCLD has seen a total of 7.8+ million checkouts and 2.5+ million holds on digital titles from Libby and OverDrive since partnering with them.
You can see insights on what’s being checked out right now by SCLD library card holders with Libby and OverDrive, including real-time totals for checkouts and holds, on the Digital Title Circulation web page.
Top Checkouts with Libby & OverDrive
SCLD first started offering audiobooks accessed with OverDrive in February 2007. Three years later, in February 2010, we started offering eBooks through OverDrive as well. That’s 18 years of digital reads—15 of them offering both formats!
As you can see from the various lists below, audiobooks continue to be a popular format for digital reads. Our top 10 checkouts of titles purchased in 2024 versus all-time checkouts gives us a snapshot of in-demand checkouts.
Some titles cracked the top 10 with both eBook and audiobook formats, revealing their overall popularity.
Top 10 Checkouts of Titles Purchased in 2024
- The Women, by Kristin Hannah (audiobook)
- The Women, by Kristin Hannah (eBook)
- First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston (audiobook)
- The Teacher, by Freida McFadden (audiobook)
- Funny Story, by Emily Henry (audiobook)
- Funny Story, by Emily Henry (eBook)
- The Boyfriend, by Freida McFadden (audiobook)
- First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston (eBook)
- Just for the Summer, by Abby Jimenez (audiobook)
- Fourth Wing: Part 1, by Rebecca Yarros (audiobook)
Top 10 All-Time Checkouts since 2007
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
- The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
- Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens (audiobook)
- Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
- Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
- Fifty Shades of Grey, by E L James (eBook)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
- The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah (audiobook)
- Educated, by Tara Westover (audiobook)
Audiobooks are favorites in many of the following lists of top 5 titles by audience. A few bestselling eBook titles appear on some lists, and they dominate the children’s nonfiction list.
How many of these all-time top checkouts have you read?
Adult Fiction
- Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens (audiobook)
- Fifty Shades of Grey, by E L James (eBook)
- The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah (audiobook)
- All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (audiobook)
- Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens (eBook)
Adult Nonfiction
- Educated, by Tara Westover (audiobook)
- Atomic Habits, by James Clear (audiobook)
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson (audiobook)
- Educated, by Tara Westover (eBook)
- Becoming, by Michelle Obama (audiobook)
Teen Fiction
- The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
- Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
- Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
Teen Nonfiction
- The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown (audiobook)
- Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation), by Laura Hillenbrand (audiobook)
- Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic, by Michael McCreary (eBook)
- Cheaper by the Dozen, by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (audiobook)
- Night, by Elie Wiesel (audiobook)
Children’s Fiction
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling (audiobook)
- The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (audiobook)
- A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle (audiobook)
- The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan (audiobook)
Children’s Nonfiction
- Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier (eBook)
- Smile, by Raina Telgemeier (eBook)
- Guts, by Raina Telgemeier (eBook)
- The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation), by Daniel James Brown (eBook)
- The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, by Jeff Kinney (eBook)
Most Popular Subject
It’s a lovely coincidence that SCLD’s anniversaries with OverDrive and Libby all happen in February, coinciding with Valentine’s Day, because titles with the subject heading of “Romance” have racked up over 2 million checkouts out of the all-time total.
In the case of digital romance titles, they include sweet to spicy genre pleasers as well as teen romantasy (fantasy with some romance mixed in) and historical, contemporary, and other fiction genres with romantic elements. What a way to celebrate the anniversary of digital checkouts!
Check out these librarian-curated lists of romance titles and others with romantic elements and/or just cozy and cuddly feelings.
For All Ages
For Kids
Get Help Setting Up Libby
If you’re new to the Libby app or have a new eReader or mobile device, library staff can help you get started with checking out digital reads.
With a Book a Librarian appointment, you get one-on-one help from library staff, helping you with things such as setting up a new smartphone, eReader, or laptop so you can read or listen to digital books.
Or if you already have the Libby app but want to learn more about its custom features, our knowledgeable staff can show you how to access them to get the best reading experience for you.
Schedule an appointment on our Book a Librarian web page or by stopping into or calling your library.
Happy reading!
