OverDrive reports list of most popular titles available through Libby reading app

 

 

LONDON – 10 December 2020 – During a year when the pandemic closed library buildings, access to digital books has proven to be a valuable service for communities in the UK. OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide, has released details of 2020’s most popular ebooks and audiobooks downloaded from UK library authorities.

OverDrive has been serving UK libraries since 2005 and currently provides ebook and audiobook access to more than 1,000 libraries up and down the country. As part of their RBdigital acquisition earlier this year, OverDrive has expanded their audiobook catalogue with WF Howes titles. All WF Howes audiobooks are now available through the Libby reading app alongside other popular ebooks and audiobooks. In addition, the full range of RBdigital magazines will be added early in the new year.

“Adding the full WF Howes catalogue is very important,” said Nick Forster, OverDrive Regional Manager, EMEA Global Libraries and Education. “The acquisition of RBdigital also means readers from almost every library service in the UK and Ireland will soon be able to enjoy access to a massive range of magazines through the award-winning Libby app. This is another big step forward in convenience for readers at a time when demand for digital services from libraries has never been higher.”

Top 10 Ebooks from UK Public Libraries in 2020

  1. Blue Moon by Lee Child
  2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
  3. Normal People by Sally Rooney
  4. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
  5. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
  6. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
  7. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  8. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
  9. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
  10. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Top 10 Audiobooks from UK Public Libraries in 2020

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
  2. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  3. Mythos by Stephen Fry
  4. The World’s Worst Children 3 by David Walliams
  5. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
  6. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J. K. Rowling
  7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
  8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  9. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  10. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

Top 10 New Release Ebooks & Audiobooks (Fiction) from UK Public Libraries in 2020 (Released in 2020)

  1. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
  2. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
  3. Mum & Dad by Joanna Trollope
  4. My One True North by Milly Johnson
  5. The Foundling by Stacey Halls
  6. Buried by Lynda La Plante
  7. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
  8. Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
  9. Slime by David Walliams
  10. Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

Top 10 Juvenile & Young Adult Ebooks & Audiobooks from UK Public Libraries in 2020

  1. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
  2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
  3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  4. Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary
  5. Demon Dentist by David Walliams
  6. Matilda by Roald Dahl
  7. Gangsta Granny by David Walliams
  8. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  9. Billionaire Boy by David Walliams
  10. The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams

With the ongoing transition to digital accelerated by the pandemic, more digital books have been enjoyed through OverDrive’s Libby app than ever before. Through the first 11 months of 2020, millions of ebooks and audiobooks have been borrowed from public libraries in the UK — a 66% increase from 2019. Ebook issues experienced the highest growth, 74% higher than this time last year. Audiobook issues also increased in 2020, 47% growth year-over-year. The fastest growing genres are children’s fiction (including picture books) and nonfiction, young adult fiction and nonfiction as well as comics and graphic novels.

A global company with reach in more than 75 countries, OverDrive has a dedicated team in the UK and sponsored Libraries Week in October.

Readers can borrow ebooks and audiobooks from their local library by downloading the Libby app from the App Store or Google Play. For more information, visit https://company.overdrive.com/public-libraries/overdrive-in-the-uk/.

 

 

About OverDrive

OverDrive is the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide. The company strives to create “a world enlightened by reading” by delivering the industry’s largest catalogue of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other digital media to a growing network of 50,000 libraries and schools in 78 countries. OverDrive’s popular reading apps provide best-in-class user experience and tools for staff management: the Libby app for libraries is one of PCMag’s Best Free Software of 2019 and Popular Mechanics’ 20 Best Apps of the Decade, while the student reading app Sora is one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2019. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and was named a Certified B Corp in 2017. OverDrive was acquired by funds affiliated with global investment firm KKR in 2020. www.overdrive.com

 

Nick Forster

Regional Manager, EMEA Global Libraries and Education

nforster@overdrive.com

 

David Burleigh
Director of Brand & Communications
dburleigh@overdrive.com

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