Libby is a free-to-useproprietary web and mobile app that supports users in accessing library ebooks. It is a product of OverDrive, Inc. The app uses a user's library card number to connect to the user's library account and check out ebooks. Once books are checked out, the app serves as an ebook reader.[2]
According to OverDrive CEO Steve Potash, as of 2023, Libby is used by approximately 90% of public libraries in North America.[3]
Libby is a service provided completely free of charge.[4] However, it is not free software.[5]
Background
Libby was launched for beta testing in December 2016.[6] For fifteen years, OverDrive, Inc partnered with the United States' public libraries to broaden and innovate how readers can benefit from online access to reading from their local libraries. The user-friendly app excelled in its beginning stages which led to its official launch in June 2017.[7] OverDrive, Inc designed Libby based on the experience of 36,000 library partners and one billion digital books borrowed.[8] Libby expanded upon OverDrive Read and OverDrive Listen software, meaning millions of ebooks and audiobooks from the library can be found quickly. This technology allows Libby to present any ebook or audiobook in an easy to find format. Its services are available 24 hours every day.
The app's ease of use, wide selection and no-cost access make it a great resource for all readers. Its vast catalog is full of curated lists called Catalog Guides, which include specific collections based on audience, genre, language, or theme.
Praise
A reviewer for Literary Review of Canada praised Libby's management of reading data, including books read and books in queue for reading.[9] A reviewer for Time called Libby one of the best apps of 2018.[10]Popular Mechanics named Libby as one of the best apps of the 2010s.[11]
Libby was also praised by The Simpsonian, which is considered the United States' oldest continually published student newspaper. It has been published since September 1870.[12] The article highlighted how Libby offers personalized recommendations in a variety of ways. The homepage is a standout feature that showcases new and trending picks at the library readers are in. It also offers curated lists, which include staff picks, seasonal selections and themed media.
Criticism
Libby and its parent company, OverDrive, are owned by the private equity firm KKR.[13]
Like other firms owned by private equity, Libby has been the subject of critiques focused on its ownership structure. Some have argued, for example, that Libby's business model, which depends on charging libraries for digital licenses that are timebound or limited to a certain number of uses or 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.[14]
Growth in costs driven by Libby utilization has led some public libraries to impose digital borrowing limits.[15]
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.[16]
Libby Book Awards
In 2023, Libby Book Awards is a book award contest put on by Libby. 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.[17] The Awards are meant to honor the top librarian-recommended books of the year. In one year the Awards went from 17 different categories to 20 different categories. More than 1,700 librarians are allowed to vote on the nominees, the Libby Book Awards are sponsored by Libby.[18]
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