Here We Grow Again (Digitally)
We're excited to share with Burlington readers that starting today, February 26, you can access over 375,000 digital titles through OverDrive and its app, Libby.
Back in 2020, during our first COVID-19 lockdown, the public libraries in Burlington, Hamilton, and Mississauga agreed to link our digital book collections available through OverDrive. This expanded partnership couldn't have come at a better time, as more readers increasingly relied on eBooks and eAudiobooks to meet their growing recreational reading needs during the public health crisis.
Since then, London, Ottawa, and Kingston Frontenac public libraries joined the partnership—and now we are seven with the recent addition of Milton Public Library.
It's a Win x7
In addition to the online books they can borrow from their home public library, residents of these seven municipalities can borrow 10-20 and reserve 10-20 books from each partner library, limits vary by library system.
This means BPL members can borrow a total of 85 digital books and reserve up to 115 titles at any one time using their BPL card at all seven libraries. That's a lot of reading! Best of all, these books are free to read with your free library card.
Although the linked OverDrive collections are available to the participating communities, members of each system do not compete with non-residents for books in their home library collection. Each library system gives first priority to its own members if there is a queue for a book in their digital collection. The libraries also continue to select and purchase titles independently, according to the needs and preferences of their members.
More Books – More Choices – More Readers
The OverDrive partnership allows Burlington residents to borrow from a huge collection of popular and bestselling titles at their convenience. Whether browsing, borrowing, and reading on a desktop computer or on a mobile device using the Libby app, digital books and magazines are handy, convenient, and in high demand.
Since January, BPL members borrowed 75,289 digital titles from our OverDrive collection and 25,872 titles from our partner collections. And 14,281 digital titles were borrowed from BPL by partner library members.
Learn how you can borrow from the OverDrive partner libraries as a BPL member.
