HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i State Public Library System announced it reached a record-breaking one million digital-book checkouts in 2020.
HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i State Public Library System announced it reached a record-breaking one million digital-book checkouts in 2020.
This accomplishment illustrates the continued growth and importance of library digital lending of ebooks and audiobooks, especially in a year with building closures due to the global pandemic.
The HSPLS is one of 102 public-library systems worldwide that surpassed one million checkouts.
The HSPLS has been providing readers 24/7 access to ebooks and audiobooks for several years through OverDrive and its award-winning Libby reading app. Reader interest and usage has grown every year.
“Reaching 1,000,000 OverDrive checkouts in 2020 demonstrates how important our public-library system is to our communities,” said Stacey A. Aldrich, HSPLS state librarian.
“It is a testament to the desire of keiki, makua and kupuna to enjoy the simple pleasure of reading and becoming absorbed in our collective stories to feel connected, even as we have been physically distanced.”
The highest-circulating title HSPLS readers borrowed through OverDrive in 2020 was “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling. The top-circulating genre, romance, represents the most popular in a vast catalog that also includes thrillers, biographies and children/young adult.
Readers in Hawai‘i just need a valid library card to access digital books from the HSPLS OverDrive-powered digital collection. Visit hawaii.overdrive.com/ or download the Libby app to get started and borrow ebooks and audiobooks anytime, anywhere.
The HSPLS has a new, online, library-card application to allow the community to stay at home and still access resources. Visit librarieshawaii.org for more information
