Libby (service)
| Libby | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Libby | |
 Libby mobile app | |
| Developer | OverDrive, Inc. |
| Release | June 2017 |
| Operating system | iOS, Android, web |
| Available in | 15 languages |
List of languages Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) English | |
| Type | Digital library |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | libbyapp |
Libby is a proprietary web and mobile app developed by OverDrive, Inc. that allows users to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and other digital materials from public libraries. Users access content by linking a library card, and borrowed items can be read or listened to within the app.[2][3][4]
The service is free for users and offered by public libraries, who pay to license digital materials. Libby is widely used in North America.[5]
History
Libby is a proprietary service and not classified as free or open-source software.[3][4]
Founding and early history
Libby was introduced for beta testing in December 2016 and officially launched in June 2017. It was developed by OverDrive, Inc. as a successor to its earlier OverDrive Read and OverDrive Listen platforms. Both Libby and OverDrive are owned by private equity firm KKR.[6] The app aimed to simplify and modernize the digital borrowing process.[7][8] Libby's founding research was based on 36,000 library partners, analyzing one billion digital books borrowed. Libby's Catalog Guides organize materials by audience, genre, language, and theme. The app also includes recommendation features based on user activity. The homepage showcases new and trending picks at the library readers are linked to, as well as staff picks, seasonal selections, and themed media.[9]
Libby Book Awards established
In 2023, the Libby Book Awards were established, recognizing librarian-recommended books across multiple categories, with a voting system of over 1,700 librarians.[10] The first annual contest was held in 2024 and featured winners for Fiction, Nonfiction, Young Adult, Audiobook, Debut Author, Diverse Author, Comic Graphic Novel, Memoir & Autobiography, Cookbook, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Book Club Pick.[11]
Modern developments
Since its launch, Libby has continued to evolve, with updates to interface and functionality to improve accessibility, user experience, and content discovery. In September 2025, Libby introduced a feature called Inspire Me, which uses artificial intelligence to provide book recommendations based on user prompts or previously saved titles.[12]
Reception
A reviewer for Literary Review of Canada praised Libby's management of reading data, including books read and books in queue for reading.[13] A reviewer for Time called Libby one of the best apps of 2018.[14] Popular Mechanics named Libby as one of the best apps of the 2010s.[15]
Some have argued that Libby's business model, which depends on charging libraries for digital licenses that are timebound or limited to a certain number of uses, has diverted libraries' acquisitions budgets away from physical media toward increasingly expensive subscriptions, which do not contribute to the long-term growth of a library's underlying assets.[16]
Growth in costs driven by Libby utilization has led some public libraries to impose digital borrowing limits.[17]
In March 2025, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins paused funding to the Libby's parent company Overdrive until it could prove that it had safeguards barring children from accessing inappropriate content.[18]
Libby Books Awards
| Year | Category | Author | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[19][20] | Fiction | James McBride | The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store | Won |
| Ann Patchett | Tom Lake | Honor | ||
| Nonfiction | David Grann | The Wager | Won | |
| Young Adult Fiction | Rebecca Ross | Divine Rivals | Won | |
| Isabel Ibañez | What the River Knows | Honor | ||
| Audiobook | Rebecca Makkai | I Have Some Questions for You | Won | |
| Debut Author | Ana Reyes | The House in the Pines | Won | |
| Diverse Author | Michelle Min Sterling | Camp Zero | Won | |
| Comic/Graphic Novel | Darrin Bell | The Talk | Won | |
| Memoir & Autobiography | Elliot Page | Pageboy | Won | |
| Cookbook | Sohla El-Waylly | Start Here | Won | |
| Dan Pelosi | Let's Eat | Honor | ||
| Mystery | Jesse Q. Sutanto | Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | Won | |
| Thriller | Jessica Knoll | Bright Young Women | Won | |
| Romance | Kate Clayborn | Georgie, All Along | Won | |
| Cat Sebastian | We Could Be So Good | Honor | ||
| Fantasy | Rebecca Yarros | Fourth Wing | Won | |
| Romantasy | Rebecca Yarros | Iron Flame | Won | |
| Science Fiction | Martha Wells | System Collapse | Won | |
| Historical Fiction | Jesmyn Ward | Let Us Descend | Won | |
| Book Club Pick | R. F. Kuang | Yellowface | Won | |
| 2025[21] | Fiction | Kristin Hannah | The Women | Won |
| Percival Everett | James | Honor | ||
| Liz Moore | The God of the Woods | Nominated | ||
| Taffy Brodesser-Akner | Long Island Compromise | Nominated | ||
| Richard Powers | Playground | Nominated | ||
| Nonfiction | Erik Larson | The Demon of Unrest | Won | |
| Rebecca Nagle | By the Fire We Carry | Honor | ||
| Adam Higginbotham | Challenger | Nominated | ||
| Malcolm Gladwell | Revenge of the Tipping Point | Nominated | ||
| Hanif Abdurraqib | There's Always This Year | Nominated | ||
| Young Adult Fiction | Sabaa Tahir | Heir | Won | |
| Jason Reynolds | Twenty-Four Seconds from Now | Honor | ||
| Olivia A. Cole | Ariel Crashes a Train | Nominated | ||
| C. G. Drews | Don’t Let the Forest In | Nominated | ||
| K. A. Cabell | Looking for Smoke | Nominated | ||
| Audiobook | Erik Larson, read by Will Patton & Erik Larson | The Demon of Unrest | Won | |
| Kaveh Akbar, read by Arian Moayed | Martyr! | Honor | ||
| Sylvie Cathrall, read by Claire Morgan, Joshua Riley, Justin Avoth & Kit Griffiths | A Letter to the Luminous Deep | Nominated | ||
| Simon Van Booy, read by Christine Rendel | Sipsworth | Nominated | ||
| Alina Grabowski, read by Abigail Reno, EJ Lavery, Maria McCann, Vernonica Giguere & Jordan Claire McCraw | Women and Children First | Nominated | ||
| Debut Author | Kaliane Bradley | The Ministry of Time | Won | |
| Natalie Sue | I Hope This Finds You Well | Honor | ||
| Rita Bullwinkel | Headshot | Nominated | ||
| Kaveh Akbar | Martyr! | Nominated | ||
| Essie Chambers | Swift River | Nominated | ||
| Book Club Pick | Rufi Thorpe | Margo's Got Money Troubles | Won | |
| Rachel Khong | Real Americans | Honor | ||
| Business Book | Denise Young | When We Are Seen | Won | |
| Mary C. Murphy | Cultures of Growth | Honor | ||
| Comic/Graphic Novel | Tessa Hulls | Feeding Ghosts | Won | |
| Maurice Vellekoop | I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together | Honor | ||
| Cookbook | Dan Pashman | Anything's Pastable | Won | |
| Janusz Domagala | Baking with Pride | Honor | ||
| Fantasy | Sarah Beth Durst | The Spellshop | Won | |
| Leigh Bardugo | The Familiar | Honor | ||
| Historical Fiction | Percival Everett | James | Won | |
| Silvia Moreno-Garcia | The Seventh Veil of Salome | Honor | ||
| Horror | Chuck Tingle | Bury Your Gays | Won | |
| Stephen Graham Jones | I Was a Teenage Slasher | Honor | ||
| Memoir & Autobiography | Salman Rushdie | Knife | Won | |
| Sloane Crosley | Grief Is for People | Honor | ||
| Middle Grade Book | Katherine Rundell | Impossible Creatures | Won | |
| Tony Weaver, Jr. | Weirdo | Honor | ||
| Mystery | Richard Osman | We Solve Murders | Won | |
| Tana French | The Hunter | Honor | ||
| Picture Book | Akiko Miyakoshi | Little Shrew | Won | |
| X. Fang | We Are Definitely Human | Honor | ||
| Romance | Emily Henry | Funny Story | Won | |
| Danica Nava | The Truth According to Ember | Honor | ||
| Romantasy | Sarah J. Maas | House of Flame and Shadow | Won | |
| Saara El-Arifi | Faebound | Honor | ||
| Science Fiction | Kaliane Bradley | The Ministry of Time | Won | |
| Yume Kitasei | The Stardust Grail | Honor | ||
| Thriller | Nicola Yoon | One of Our Kind | Won | |
| Abbott Kahler | Where You End | Honor |
See also
References
- ↑ "Setting language preferences in Libby".
- ↑ Whitney, Lance (July 27, 2022). "How to Borrow and Read Ebooks From Your Local Library". PCMag.
- 1 2 "Libby Help: What Is Libby?". Archived from the original on May 6, 2025.
- 1 2 "OverDrive Terms and Conditions: Service License". Archived from the original on May 17, 2025.
- ↑ Tibken, Shara (April 9, 2023). "The Money-Saving Power of Your Library Card". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ↑ Gross, Daniel (September 2, 2021). "The Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-Books". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ↑ "Meet Libby, the One-Tap Reading App from Your Library". OverDrive. 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ↑ "Meet Libby: The book borrowing app breaking the mold". Rakuten Today. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ↑ "Meet Libby, the One-Tap Reading App from Your Library". OverDrive. 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ↑ "Librarians' Choice: The First-Ever Libby Book Awards". OverDrive. 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ↑ Mandal, Sovan (March 14, 2024). "Introducing the Libby Book Awards: Celebrating the Best Books of 2023". Good Ereader. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah (2025-09-16). "Gemini tops the App Store thanks to new AI image model, Nano Banana". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ↑ Wolfe, Jessica Duffin (February 2020). ""Check Out Libby"". Literary Review of Canada.
- ↑ Fitzpatrick, Alex; Austin, Patrick Lucas (14 December 2018). "The Best iPhone and Android Apps of 2018". Time.
- ↑ Linder, Courtney (27 December 2019). "The 20 Best Apps of the 2010s". Popular Mechanics.
- ↑ Gross, non-paginated.
- ↑ Wicentowski, Danny (January 27, 2025). "Facing 'unsustainable' costs, St. Louis County Library issues limits on Hoopla and Libby use". St. Louis NPR. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ↑ Hanshaw, Annelise (March 10, 2025). "Missouri Secretary of State withdraws state funding of digital library catalog". Missouri Independent. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ↑ Yang, Sarah (2024-03-13). "These Are the Best Books to Add to Your Reading List, According to Librarians". Sunset Magazine. Retrieved 2026-08-25.
- ↑ "And the award goes to...: The winners of the first Libby Book Awards". Libby Life: Blog, Podcast, Book Clubs & More. Retrieved 2026-08-25.
- ↑ "The winners of the 2025 Libby Book Awards". Libby Life: Blog, Podcast, Book Clubs & More. Retrieved 2026-08-25.