Suffolk County libraries reach milestone in e-book and audiobook checkouts, but hard copies are still going strong

The Suffolk Cooperative Library System has reached a digital milestone. 

The system reported its 4 millionth download in 2025 on Dec. 16, the highest amount in a single year since it began offering e-book and audiobook checkouts 18 years ago.

"We read a lot about how people are reading less and people aren't reading books and whatnot," said Kevin Verbesey, the library system's executive director. "This kind of speaks in the face of that."

The lucky 4 millionth title was the audiobook version of "Warbreaker's Rise" by Troy Osgood, a role-playing fantasy/sci-fi book, according to Samantha Alberts, the administrator for member services.

The library system began offering digital versions of books in 2007. In 2010, the system saw an uptick to hundreds of thousands of digital checkouts when it started using the Libby app, popular among libraries nationwide.

The system has seen a year-over-year growth in the number of digital checkouts, going from 3,213,977 in 2022 to 3,658,631 in 2023 and 3,863,477 in 2024. 

"With each year, more and more people become more comfortable with the technology and utilize that technology," Verbesey said.

Even so, the debate over whether the e-book or the physical copy is preferable remains as omnipresent as ever. 

Gregory Rauchenberger, 19, said when he's home in Hauppauge from Northwestern University, he uses the Libby app to checkout e-books through the Smithtown Library. This allows for extra space in his luggage.

"Instead of hauling a bunch of books back and forth, I'm able to keep it all in one place," Rauchenberger told Newsday.

But he checks out physical copies too, he said, and plans to read the novel "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin during winter break.

Eunice Kim, 27, of Hauppauge, said she no longer has much time to read for pleasure as a first-year student at Stony Brook University's Renaissance School of Medicine.

But, when she does, she prefers the hard copy to an e-reader.

"I'm always on the computer and using digital things that I prefer something physical as a break," Kim said while studying at Hauppauge Public Library earlier this month.

Even as e-books continue to blossom in popularity, checkout trends have changed, Verbesey said.

In the 2010s, the Suffolk system would budget "twice as much" to buy licenses for digital copies for January relative to other points in the year, anticipating a spike in checkouts after holiday gifting season.

Checkouts remain fairly steady now, Verbesey said, since so many people have e-readers, and the technology has become more widespread. The numbers of checkouts are somewhere around 11,000 to 12,000 per day, he said.

Long Island's love for e-books and audiobooks makes sense, he said, for many reasons.

But one, in particular, rings true: "Long Islanders spend a lot of time in our cars."