Toronto Public Library Reaches 50 Million Loans on OverDrive

April 6, 2022 | Mike

Toronto Public Library achieved a new milestone and became the first library system in the world to reach 50 million checkouts through OverDrive. The 50 millionth loan was A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson.

It is fitting that the 50 millionth checkout is by an acclaimed Canadian author. A Town Called Solace was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize and named a Best Book of the Year by The Globe and Mail, CBC Books and The Daily Telegraph. Set in Northern Ontario in 1972, it tells the story of three individuals at different stages in life who live near each other in the small town of Solace. The book is a quiet journey through their lives as they become intertwined by tragedy.

TPL first provided access to OverDrive in 2007, when a mere 3,608 items were borrowed. It took five years for all-time checkouts to reach 1 million in 2012. In 2021, TPL circulated 9.8 million digital items through OverDrive to over 230,000 library cards. TPL has also led the world in annual OverDrive circulation for nine consecutive years.

Digital Library Services