E-Book Checkouts From Libraries Up 200 Percent Over 2010

It’s no longer necessary to go to the library for a new book -- you can just visit your local library’s website from home or from your mobile phone to check out an e-book.

And that practice is taking off. OverDrive, the leading distributor of e-books and digital audiobooks to libraries, reports today that e-book checkouts nearly tripled through September 30, compared to all of 2010. E-books have been checked out 12 million times so far this year. Contributors to that growth include Kindle and other e-readers adding support for library lending; expanded e-book offerings; and increasing library browsing via mobile phones and tablets. Many more readers are now browsing library offerings from their smartphones and tablets, and mobile checkouts now make up 21 percent of overall checkouts, OverDrive says. Over 15,000 public and school libraries are now using OverDrive’s platform. A recent American Library Association study found that two-thirds of public libraries in the U.S. now offer e-book checkouts.