York County residents have not stopped reading, even during a worldwide pandemic.
Digital reading in York County increased 31% in 2020 when compared to data from 2019, with 88,256 digital checkouts in 2020–––the York County Library’s “highest year” to date, according to the county’s news release.
The significant growth of readers and checkouts was influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, social justice and remote learning according to the county.
E-books borrowed saw a 39% increase in 2020 in comparison to 2019.
The most significant growth was in the children/young adult genre otherwise known as young adult fiction and nonfiction, which saw checkouts increased by 75% in 2020.
Officials attributed this trend to remote and hybrid learning due to COVID-19.
“Our virtual library became the only library for citizens for many months during the pandemic,” Library Director Kevin Smith said in a prepared statement. “We’d like to thank the people of York County and surrounding areas for embracing ebooks and audiobooks.”
York County Public Library has been providing readers 24/7 access to e-books and audiobooks since 2012 via the OverDrive distribution app. More information about the increased readership is available on the Public Library website.
To begin borrowing e-books and audiobooks from the local library, readers are encouraged to visit the OverDrive website, or download the Libby app from either the Apple App Store or Google Play.
The only requirement to get started is a York County Public Library card.
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