SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - January 6, 2011) - American Library Association Midwinter Conference -- Libraries and schools worldwide were at the forefront of the eBook boom in 2010, as patrons and students downloaded millions of digital books for iPhone®, Android™, Sony® Reader, NOOK™, and personal computers. More than one million new users signed on to access free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from 'Virtual Branch' websites last year, resulting in a 200 percent increase in eBook checkouts and a 52 percent increase in audiobook checkouts over 2009. To find eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video titles from a library near you, visit http://search.overdrive.com.
Key statistics for library eBooks, audiobooks, and more from OverDrive-powered digital catalogs include:
- 718 million book and title catalog pages viewed
- 15 million digital titles checked out
- 6.6 billion minutes of spoken word audio downloaded
- 400,000 copyrighted eBook, audiobook, music, and video titles available to libraries
Library users are able to download eBooks over the air directly to their iPhone®, iPod touch®, and Android™ tablet or phone, in addition to downloads for PC, Mac®, and popular eBook readers. The free OverDrive Media Console apps launched with EPUB eBook support in December 2010 and helped drive new records for library mobile checkouts. OverDrive will release an optimized iPad™ app with eBook support, as well as BlackBerry®, with other platforms in development.
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was the most downloaded adult fiction eBook and audiobook of the year, as Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy enthralled library customers in 2010. On the adult nonfiction side, Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love" topped the eBook and audiobook charts. Titles from Kathryn Stockett, Malcolm Gladwell, and Chelsea Handler were also among the most downloaded books from the library in 2010. The top five titles in each adult category include:
Most Downloaded Adult Fiction eBooks from the Library (2010)
1. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Stieg Larsson, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2. "The Help," Kathryn Stockett, Penguin USA, Inc.
3. "The Girl Who Played with Fire," Stieg Larsson, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
4. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," Stieg Larsson, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
5. "The Lost Symbol," Dan Brown, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Most Downloaded Adult Nonfiction eBooks from the Library (2010)
1. "Eat, Pray, Love," Elizabeth Gilbert, Penguin Group USA, Inc.
2. "Sh*t My Dad Says," Justin Halpern, HarperCollins
3. "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell, Little, Brown and Company
4. "SuperFreakonomics," Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, HarperCollins
5. "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang," Chelsea Handler, Grand Central Publishing
Most Downloaded Adult Fiction Audiobooks from the Library (2010)
1. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Stieg Larsson, Books on Tape
2. "The Help," Kathryn Stockett, Books on Tape
3. "The Girl Who Played with Fire," Stieg Larsson, Books on Tape
4. "The Lost Symbol," Dan Brown, Books on Tape
5. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," Stieg Larsson, Books on Tape
Most Downloaded Adult Nonfiction Audiobooks from the Library (2010)
1. "Eat, Pray, Love," Elizabeth Gilbert, Books on Tape
2. "Blink," Malcolm Gladwell, Hachette Audio
3. "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell, Hachette Audio
4. "Three Cups of Tea," Greg Mortenson, Tantor Media
5. "The Tipping Point," Malcolm Gladwell, Hachette Audio
Monthly 'Most Downloaded Books from the Library' lists are also published at http://overdrive.com/mostdownloaded.
The Digital Bookmobile (www.digitalbookmobile.com), a high-tech 18-wheeler traveling North America on behalf of public libraries to raise awareness about free library downloads, visited nearly 100 libraries and schools in 2010. Since the tour launched in August 2008, the Digital Bookmobile has held 325 events, traveled more than 80,000 miles, and trained more than 75,000 users on digital downloads from the library. The Digital Bookmobile national tour will be on the road again this year, starting at OverDrive's Digipalooza 2011 (www.digipalooza.com), July 28 - 31, 2011, in Cleveland, Ohio.
OverDrive provides digital distribution services for more than 13,000 libraries, retailers, and schools worldwide with support for Windows®, Mac, iPod®, iPhone, iPad, Sony Reader, NOOK, Android, and BlackBerry. To learn more about OverDrive's digital distribution services for libraries and schools, visit OverDrive at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Conference in San Diego at booth # 1017, Jan. 7-10, 2011.
About OverDrive
OverDrive is a leading full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools, and retailers, serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.overdrive.com
Contact Information:
Contact:
David Burleigh
OverDrive, Inc.
216-573-6886 x218