By: Adam Sockel, OverDrive Social Media Specialist

Recently, Pew released a report titled “Libraries and Learning”, which found that the number of people aware of digital materials at their library has never been higher. As lifestyles continue to get busier and technologies advance, people are taking advantage of eBooks and digital audiobooks more than ever.

Pew’s survey concludes that awareness of eBook availability at libraries increased more than 20 percent among the general population in just the last year alone. As of April 2016, three out of every five adults now say they know their local libraries have eBook lending programs. This correlates with the strong upswing in digital circulation libraries are experiencing at their OverDrive-powered websites.

Data from OverDrive aligns with the Pew findings as the number of unique users accessing digital collections and overall circulation reach record levels. This rapid growth in digital awareness can also be attributed to movements like the American Library Association’s (ALA) Libraries Transform campaign. Libraries Transform promotes how libraries are a key cog in today’s technologically advanced communities.

How to capitalize on these numbers

While these statistics are exciting, the opportunity remains that a large portion of your community are still not aware that your library offers anytime, anywhere access to free digital content. Therefore, it’s essential that libraries continue to spread the word. OverDrive’s new Resource Center provides countless marketing tools including printable materials, social messaging and interactive ideas. We can even help you set up inexpensive, targeted social media ads to get the word out in your community. This report, combined with our data, proves that as awareness of digital content grows so does your overall number of library users. Working together, OverDrive can help you continue to increase awareness and engagement in your community.