Bridges, the ebook and audiobook consortium managed by the State Library for Iowa libraries, celebrated more than 2.4 million checkouts by Iowans in 2022. Bridges were one of 129 OverDrive library systems to surpass the 1 million checkout milestone worldwide, and Over-Drive reported its highest year ever for digital checkouts.

To be exact, Bridges circulated 2,404,576 items in 2022, including 1,187,411 ebooks, 1,120,767 audiobooks, and 94,939 magazines.

“Digital content remains in huge demand with Iowa library patrons,” said Michael Scott, State Librarian. “Iowans appreciate the convenience of checking out library materials right from home. The State Library is pleased to offer libraries the opportunity to provide digital collections through the Bridges consortium at a greater scale than they could on their own.”

2022 Bridges most popular

Thrillers and book club fiction were the most popular genres in the Bridges ebook and audiobook top 10 lists. Author Colleen Hoover, enjoying a surge of popularity among readers, made a total of four appearances in both lists. Magazine titles, a newer resource available in Bridges, covered a range of subjects in the most popular list for 2022.

The top 10 ebooks circulated in 2022:

1. “The Four Winds: A Novel” by Kristin Hannah

2. “The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel” by Laura Dave

3. “Verity” by Colleen Hoover

4. “The Girl in His Shadow: A Novel” by Audrey Blake

5. “Apples Never Fall” by Liane Moriarty

6. “It Ends with Us: A Novel” by Colleen Hoover

7. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

8. “The Lincoln Highway: A Novel” by Amor Towles

9. “The Judge’s List: A Novel” by John Grisham

10. “Ugly Love: A Novel” by Colleen Hoover

The top 10 audiobooks circulated in 2022:

1. “Where the Crawdads Sing (unabridged)” by Delia Owens

2. “The Four Winds: A Novel (unabridged)” by Kristin Hannah

3. “The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel (unabridged)” by Laura Dave

4. “It Ends with Us (unabridged)” by Colleen Hoover

5. “The Silent Patient (unabridged)” by Alex Michaelides

6. “The Guest List: A Novel (unabridged)” by Lucy Foley

7. “Apples Never Fall (unabridged)” by Liane Moriarty

8. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel (unabridged)” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

9. “Before We Were Yours: A Novel (unabridged)” by Lisa Wingate

10. “Educated: A Memoir (unabridged)” by Tara Westover