Libby is a mobile app developed by OverDrive that allows users to borrow e-books and audiobooks from their local library. With Libby, users can browse their library’s digital catalog, borrow books with just a few taps, and read or listen to them on their mobile devices. Libby also offers a user-friendly reading experience with features such as adjustable font sizes, background colors, and reading progress tracking. Additionally, Libby supports multiple library cards, which means users can borrow books from different libraries and keep track of them all in one place.

The company recently came up with some YOY loan data which provides interesting insight into the lending trend among users.

According to recent data, North American public libraries have experienced a significant surge in e-book and digital audiobook checkouts, with a staggering 117 percent increase between 2018 and 2023. Furthermore, in just three years from 2020 to 2023, there has been a 55 percent increase in checkouts alone.

Another area of growth for North American public libraries has been in the digital magazine space, particularly within the Libby app. In fact, the usage of digital magazine checkouts in Libby has grown by an impressive 612 percent from December 2020 to January 2023. This is due to an increase in the availability of legacy publications within the app, which have either increased or shifted their focus towards digital library lending.

Additionally, one of the fastest-growing categories in the Libby app for North American public libraries is comic books and graphic novels, which has seen a remarkable 222 percent increase in usage from January 2020 to January 2023.

As such, it is going to be extremely interesting to see how does the above trend look like in the future.

The post Libby reports record rise in demand for comic books from 2020 to 2023 in North America first appeared on Good e-Reader.