EBooks and audiobooks maintain popularity
Libraries continue to provide a vital service to their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Readers around the world discovered or rediscovered a love of reading thanks to library digital lending of eBooks and audiobooks, which allowed them to safely seek and enjoy books from home.
Live-brary, consisting of 56 libraries in Suffolk County, recently announced it surpassed two million digital checkouts in 2021. The Public Libraries of Suffolk County have been providing readers 24/7 access to eBooks and audiobooks for several years through OverDrive and its award-winning Libby reading app. Reader interest has grown every year.
The top five eBook titles borrowed through Live-brary’s digital collection in 2021 were:
1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
4. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
5. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
The top five audiobook titles borrowed through Live-brary’s digital collection in 2021 were:
1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
4. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
5. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
The top five Young Adult eBooks Suffolk County borrowed in 2021 were:
1. Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
2. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
3. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyers
4. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah
J. Maas
5. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The top children’s eBooks that Suffolk County patrons borrowed in 2021 were:
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End
by Jeff Kinney
2. Dog Man Mothering Heights by Dav
Pilkey
3. Guts by Raina Telgemeier
4. Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling
Residents in Suffolk County just need a valid library card to access digital books from Live-brary’s OverDrive-powered digital collection.
Readers can use any major device, including Apple®, Android™, Chromebook™ and Kindle® (U.S. only). Visit livebrary.overdrive.com or download the Libby app to get started and borrow eBooks and audiobooks anytime, anywhere.◆
This article first appeared in Prime Times – a special supplement by TBR News Media.
