Colleen Hoover, Rebecca Yarros and Prince Harry Dominate Public Libraries’ Top Digital Book Titles of 2023

The year’s most popular titles on the Libby reading app, including BookTok sensations, New York Times bestsellers and Libby’s fastest circulating book ever

This year’s list of the most popular books in public libraries was dominated by romance novels and memoirs from three bestselling authors that whisk readers away to other worlds. Based on circulation figures from millions of readers in 18,000 public libraries in North America on the award-winning Libby reading app, Colleen Hoover, Rebecca Yarros and Prince Harry led in multiple categories for the top books borrowed in 2023. Libby provides free access to public libraries’ collections of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and graphic novels, and was created by OverDrive, the leading digital content platform for libraries and schools worldwide.

As digital book lending continues to flourish in public libraries, these community institutions remain an essential resource for free reading materials through the Libby app. Since 2021, North American public libraries have seen a 55 percent increase in ebook and audiobook checkouts to hundreds of millions in 2023. Audiobooks experienced a significant growth in circulation this year alone, increasing by more than 22 percent, continuing its meteoric rise in popularity over the past decade. Digital magazine checkouts also grew in 2023 by more than 65 percent, due in large part with the expanded selection as well as Libby’s recent one-tap magazine checkout feature.

Here are the 2023 Top Books Borrowed in North American Public Libraries on Libby, organized by genre and format:

Rebecca Yarros enjoyed a wildly successful year, releasing the first two books in the Empyrean series, Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. While Fourth Wing was the #1 book for the year in multiple categories, Iron Flame amassed the most checkouts in the first thirty days after release than any title in Libby history.

While the list above (see full list) represents actual loans of digital books, a new feature in Libby released in 2023 provides insight into readers’ pre-release demand. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas, Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross, and Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros led the list of titles that patrons tagged millions of times with the Notify Me feature in Libby. Using these smart tags alerts each reader’s library of their interest, and if the title is purchased, notifies the reader that the book is now part of the library’s digital collection.

The Libby reading app provides readers with access to their local library’s extensive digital collection, including popular ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, cookbooks and more. To get started with Libby, library patrons can download the Libby app and sign in with a valid library card or sign up for one in the app.

Thousands of public libraries across the world also offer Kanopy, leading streaming provider of award-winning film and television.

Readers can view the full list of Libby’s 2023 Top Books Borrowed from North American public libraries.