June is Audiobook Appreciation Month, and more library users than ever are turning to digital content.
In 2024, we had 239,355 virtual checkouts – eBooks, eAudio, movies, music, magazines. In fiscal year 2023, the number of virtual checkouts was just 183,810, roughly a 25 percent increase in just one year. Last year, more than 200,000 checkouts came from Libby, our most popular app for audiobooks, alone. Digital content accounted for 30 percent of our total circulation last year.
For those who haven’t made the leap into the world of audiobooks, we asked our staff for their tips on how to get started and get the most out of the experience.
Speed things up, or slow them down, to stay focused. “Both Libby and Hoopla allow you to adjust the speed of the narration to go faster or slower,” suggests Library Director Joanna. Being able to set the speed can help you finish the book faster and even make it seem like it’s a faster – or slower – paced story.
You don’t have to listen to just one voice. “An audiobook with a full cast – not just one reader – is good for keeping your attention,” said Reader Services Librarian Sarah. She suggests this list of recommendations compiled by the team at Libby, one of the audiobook and ebook apps Library cardholders can use to download and listen. You’ll also find the more you borrow or even search within Boundless, Libby and Hoopla, the more accurately those apps can make recommendations for you.
Genre can be everything. Patron Services Associate Alison says, “I seem to be able to focus best on nonfiction books – memoirs, for example – in the audiobook format. I really enjoyed From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley, narrated by Riley Keough and Julia Roberts. I felt more connected to the words because of the reading aloud of Presley’s daughter, who had the personal connection [to the story].” Presley passed away before the book was completed; her daughter finished it for her and recorded the audiobook with Roberts soon after. At the time of this writing, this book was available on Libby.
Make the best use of your time. Anna Jayne, a Library Specialist in Adult Services, said she loves listening in the car doing errands or driving her kids to practices, and has this advice: “My advice for new readers of audiobooks is to be patient with yourself when beginning a book. It can take multiple tries before your mind settles down and is able to focus, so be patient with yourself and allow for a few tries at chapter one of an audiobook to focus.”
They’re free with your library card! Laura M. in Patron Services wants people to know the apps needed to borrow and listen to audiobooks are free, they just load the library card number onto their Kindle, iPad or smartphone, and they can start checking out right away. “Some patrons seem a little wary about them, but I explain we can walk them through if they have trouble at home.”
There’s more than one way to listen. “It took me longer than I like to admit before I tried an audiobook through the Libby app,” said Reference Librarian Lori Preston. “Using my phone’s Bluetooth, I can connect the audiobook to my car stereo, and I can use my car’s buttons, as well as the buttons on Libby and Boundless to go back a track, or just 15 seconds at a time, which are the same controls I was used to when listening to the Books on CD.”
Learn more about downloading audiobooks to your favorite device, which apps offer audiobooks, and more on our Ebooks & Downloadables page. As with physical books, returning your book as soon as your done with it helps keep the audiobook circulating and helps the next person in “line” behind you. Audiobooks, like physical books, are purchased in a specified quantity. Think of the audiobook as a file that only one person can access at a time, just like a book.
For more audiobook recommendations, see this list of titles for different age groups from the American Library Association. Or, as always, ask a Park Ridge librarian!
