Libraries have 820 million digital borrows in 2025
In 2025, libraries around the world continued to break new digital lending records. As the need for flexible, on-demand access to books and media continued to grow, libraries expanded their digital collections to meet readers where they are, delivering record usage across ebooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, and streaming video.
Using Overdrive Libby app and Sora, readers borrowed more than 820 million digital titles worldwide in 2025, marking a 10.9% year-over-year increase and reflecting sustained engagement across public libraries, schools, and institutions.
This growth translated into meaningful milestones for library systems and readers alike. For the first time, more than 200 library systems, consortia, and school libraries surpassed one million digital checkouts, signalling both the scale of digital adoption and the trust communities place in libraries to provide equitable, cost-free access to high-quality content.
Digital books in the public library reached 379.4 million check outs in 2025, which is a 3% increase from 2024. Digital audiobooks reached 315.9 million borrows, a 13% increase. Digital magazines reached 125.1 million check outs, a 31% increase and finally digital comics experienced 55.7 million in 2025, an increase of 22%.
Top Ten Ebooks by Digital Checkouts of 2025:
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
- The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach
- Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
- The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Top Ten Audiobooks by Digital Checkouts of 2025:
- Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Crash by Freida McFadden
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- The Tenant by Freida McFadden
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
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