Digital Loans in Canadian Libraries Increased 56% Since 2019

January 14, 2022

Data from Overdrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries worldwide, highlight the continued growth of digital loans in Canadian libraries. Some highlights:

• Overall, Canadian libraries circulated 49 million ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines in 2021, which is 16% over 2020 and 56% over 2019.
• Ebooks are the most popular digital format, but audiobooks outpaced them in circulation growth in 2021 (21% to 5%), reversing the result in 2020 in which ebooks outpaced audiobooks during the height of the pandemic (less commuting).
• Unique users have grown 49% since 2019
• 14 Canadian library systems surpassed one million digital checkouts in 2021 with the Toronto Public Library becoming the first library (worldwide) ever to hit nine million digital checkouts in a calendar year

Most popular ebooks borrowed from Canadian libraries in 2021:

1. Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
2. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
3. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
4. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
6. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
7. Bridgerton Collection, Volume 1 by Julia Quinn
8. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
9. A Time for Mercy by John Grisham
10. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Most popular audiobooks borrowed from Canadian libraries in 2021:

1. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
2. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
3. Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman
4. Becoming by Michelle Obama
5. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
6. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
8. Atomic Habits by James Clear
9. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
10. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

 Most popular digital magazines borrowed from Canadian libraries in 2021:

1. The Economist
2. Us Weekly
3. HELLO! magazine
4. The New Yorker
5. Canadian Living
6. OK! Magazine
7. HGTV Magazine
8. Woman’s World
9. Star Magazine
10. Style At Home

Top digital books borrowed from Canadian libraries by genre:

• Adult fiction: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Adult nonfiction: A Promised Land by Barack Obama
• Young adult fiction: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
• Children’s fiction: Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

The 2021 Million Checkout Libraries

• 9 million checkouts
  • Toronto Public Library
• 3 million checkouts
  • Calgary Public Library
  • Ontario Library Service Consortium
• 2 million checkouts
  • Edmonton Public Library
  • Ottawa Public Library
• 1 million checkouts
  • British Columbia Libraries
  • Fraser Valley Regional Library
  • Halifax Public Libraries
  • Hamilton Public Library
  • Mississauga Library System
  • Okanagan Regional Library
  • Saskatchewan Library Consortium
  • Vancouver Public Library
  • Winnipeg Public Library

(Data provided by Overdrive)