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Fairfax County Public Library reached a major digital milestone in 2024, surpassing 25 million all-time checkouts as demand for e-books, audiobooks and online magazines continued to climb.

The 85-year-old library system recorded 3.8 million digital checkouts during the year, according to an overview released Jan. 2, 2025. Monthly digital readership has nearly doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic, rising from 35,500 unique users in January 2019 to between 64,000 and 65,000 borrowers.

Acting deputy director Dianne Coan said digital readership grew steadily both before and after the pandemic.

FCPL also expanded its “Library of Things” in 2024, adding kits that allow patrons to monitor light pollution and record family histories. The collection already includes board games, artwork, nature backpacks and other non-book items.

The most popular digital titles

Women authors held most of the spots on FCPL’s lists of the year’s most frequently borrowed digital materials. Historical fiction, crime and self-help proved popular with adults, while younger readers favored fantasy.

The five most checked-out adult e-books were:

  1. “The Second Mrs. Astor: A Heartbreaking Historical Novel of the Titanic” by Shana Abe
  2. “The Marlow Murder Club: A Novel” by Robert Thorogood
  3. “The Women: A Novel” by Kristin Hannah
  4. “It Starts With Us” by Colleen Hoover
  5. “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed” by Lori Gottlieb

The leading adult e-audiobooks were:

  1. “101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think” by Brianna Wiest
  2. “Pretty Girls” by Karin Slaughter
  3. “The Heavens May Fall” by Allen Eskens
  4. “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros
  5. “The Paris Apartment: A Novel” by Lucy Foley

For children and young adults, the most popular e-books were:

  1. “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas
  2. “Check & Mate” by Ali Hazelwood
  3. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
  4. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
  5. “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas

The top children’s and young-adult e-audiobooks were:

  1. “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas
  2. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
  3. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J.K. Rowling
  4. “If He Had Been with Me” by Laura Nowlin
  5. “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle

Library patrons also used Libby to access digital editions of magazines including The New Yorker, New Scientist, Us Weekly, The Week and National Geographic.

Print favorites retain their appeal

“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus became the library’s most borrowed adult print book after placing fourth in 2023.

The five leading adult print titles were:

  1. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
  2. “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett
  3. “The Exchange: After the Firm” by John Grisham
  4. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah
  5. “Happy Place” by Emily Henry

Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series remained a favorite among younger patrons. “The Thank You Book” topped the children’s and young-adult print list for the second consecutive year.

The five most popular titles in that category were:

  1. “The Thank You Book” by Mo Willems
  2. “Dog Man: Mothering Heights” by Dav Pilkey
  3. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal” by Jeff Kinney
  4. “Dog Man: Unleashed” by Dav Pilkey
  5. “Dog Man: Fetch” by Dav Pilkey

Rising digital costs strain the collection

The surge in digital borrowing has created financial pressure for FCPL. Its allocated operating budget has remained flat in recent years while licensing and subscription prices have increased.

After determining that renewal costs were no longer viable, the library announced that access to the Kanopy video-streaming service would end when its subscription expired after Jan. 31.

Coan and the FCPL Board of Trustees have advocated for changes to publishers’ e-book licensing practices, though local government leaders have said meaningful reforms would likely require federal action.

Coan said the library would continue building a strong digital collection in 2025 while balancing reader demand against differing publisher pricing models.

FCPL also plans to refresh its nonfiction print collection with one-time funding approved in 2024 by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Another priority is expanding print materials for children, particularly beginning readers.

That effort includes growing the Read-Along collection, which lets children hear a story while following the printed text. Coan said the format is a proven way to strengthen reading skills.