OverDrive Reports a Record Number of Public Libraries and Consortia Worldwide Surpass 1 Million Ebook Circulation During 2021
From OverDrive:
A total of 121 public libraries and consortia based in seven countries and from 37 U.S. states each loaned more than one million ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in 2021.
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Twenty-two library systems joined the Million+ Circulation status for the first time in 2021. The 121 Million+ Circulation libraries are based in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Leading the profession for the ninth consecutive year is Toronto Public Library, achieving a new record of serving readers with nearly 10 million digital titles circulated. The strongest year-over-year circulation growth (73%) was accomplished by Verbund Öffntlicher Bibliotheken (VÖBB) Berlin, Germany. Los Angeles Public Library retained the #1 public library position in the U.S. for the third year in a row. In addition, for the first time, students from four K-12 school districts in 2021 accessed more than one million digital books with Sora, OverDrive’s student reading app.
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The complete list of Million+ Circulation libraries can be found here. The top circulating digital ebooks, audiobooks and magazines can be found here.
Top 10 library systems circulating ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in 2021:
- Toronto Public Library
- National Library Board 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 (AB, Canada)
- Mid-Content Public Library (MO)
Top 5 consortia circulating ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in 2021:
- MELSA: Twin Cities Metro eLibrary (MN)
- The Ohio Digital Library
- Wisconsin Public Library Consortium
- Greater Phoenix Digital Library
- Tennessee READS
Library systems achieving Million+ Circulation status for digital books for the first time:
- Arkansas Digital Library Consortium
- eIndiana Digital Consortium
- Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library System
- Dayton Metro Library
- Fraser Valley Regional Library
- Nebraska OverDrive Libraries
- Winnipeg Public Library
- Western Australia 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
- Libraries NI (Northern Ireland)
- Baltimore County Public Library
- Kent District Library
- The Libraries Consortium (UK)
- Verbund Öffentlicher Bibliotheken (VÖBB) Berlin
- Houston Public Library
- Georgia Download Destination
- MELSA: Twin Cities Metro eLibrary
Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement
Filed under: Digital Collections, Interactive Tools, Libraries, National Libraries, News, Public Libraries, Reports

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.