On the Road to 1 Million Digital Checkouts

Citrus Libraries is on the way to hit their one-millionth digital checkout since first launching Overdrive just over a decade ago to its users. Books and audiobooks were first available through Overdrive’s classic app, and now those and more are available through the Libby app. Interest in digital materials has continued to grow since the spring of 2020, and, with the help of reading challenges such as Big Library Read and our very own Citrus Reads, the popularity hasn’t showed signs of slowing yet.

“Over the last year we’ve seen checkouts from Libby consistently hitting the 12,000-13,000 mark, which is a new high for Citrus Libraries,” said Library Director Adam Chang. “To reach the millionth overall checkout for our system by the end of July, we will need to reach about 17,000 checkouts for the month.”

With titles like John Grisham’s Gray Mountain and David Baldacci’s Memory Man topping the list of most checked out books, its easy to see why the latest Citrus Reads title, Home is Where the Bodies Are, was so popular. In addition to the ever-popular thrillers, the first five titles in the Harry Potter series were found to be in the top checkouts for our younger readers. Now, readers have access to not only the books and audiobooks, but cookbooks, comics, magazines and more, all from the comfort of their home. Try Libby today and help us reach one million before the end of the month!

Using Libby is easy for anyone with an active Citrus Libraries card. The Libby app is available on Apple and Android devices, and downloaded books can also be read with a Kindle. The Citrus Libraries digital library can be accessed 24/7 by readers at https://libbyapp.com/library/citrus. For additional assistance using Libby, or to sign-up for a library card, you can visit your nearest branch. To stay in the know about upcoming programs and events, and new services and resources available to the public, you can visit citruslibraries.org or follow @CitrusLibraries on Facebook and Instagram.