A homegrown digital library is having a breakout year.

Read Michigan — the statewide e-book collection built around Michigan authors, places and stories — has seen steady, measurable growth, capped this year by a spike in usage driven by its newly expanded Michigan Field Guides and Activity collection.

“We’re seeing tens of thousands of sessions, and the field guides are a big part of that momentum,” said David Votta, special collections manager at the Library of Michigan. By late August, Read Michigan had logged about 8,000 title accesses for 2025, roughly 6,000 of them tied to the outdoor-focused field guides alone. Cumulatively, the platform has registered more than 82,000 sessions and 135,000 direct visits since launch.

Born during the COVID-19 pandemic and expanded in 2022 as a par

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