Last week I battled a silly little cold that had me down for the count. While snuggled into bed with approximately seven blankets wrapped around me, I binged GQ’s ‘Actually Me’ series, where celebs answer the internet’s most burning questions about themselves.
As someone who often browses different Reddit communities like r/books and r/audiobooks in my free time, I’ve come across quite a few questions from readers regarding the Libby app. I try my best to resist working while I’m off the clock (gotta have that work/life balance, amiright?), which is a challenge when you love what you do as much as I do, so I typically let other people respond. However, I thought it might be helpful to compile some of the great questions people have asked over the last year and answer them here, all in one place.
Does Libby remember where you stopped listening or do you have to bookmark manually?
There is no need to place a bookmark to remember where you left off in an audiobook because Libby keeps track of that for you, even if the book returns to the library and you borrow it again! Libby will also synchronize between multiple devices, so if you add your library card to your phone, tablet, and computer, you will keep your place across all three.
How do you change the background color in the Libby app?
You can set the background color of ebooks to appear in dark mode by tapping the A icon in the top right corner of the reader menus in an ebook. Under Lighting, select DARK.
If your device’s settings are set to dark mode, Libby will automatically use the dark theme through the entire app interface, not just the ebook reader.
Some of the books on my list have become expired or have no copies left. Are these books gone from Libby forever, or will they come back sometime?
Due to the way that libraries purchase digital licenses, some books expire after a certain amount of time or borrows. If you can no longer find a book that previously appeared in Libby, it’s likely that the license for that book has met the borrowing or time limit. When that happens, you can reach out to the library to recommend the book for repurchase. Some libraries even allow you to recommend titles for purchase directly from their OverDrive website.
Can I use the Libby App abroad?
As long as you have an active library card to a library that uses OverDrive services, you can continue to access your digital library wherever you are in the world. This is the case if you are on a short vacation or are out of the country for an extended period, like military personnel or students studying abroad.
Are the books in Libby dependent on the library you are a member of?
You can think of your library’s digital collection similarly to the physical collection at the brick-and-mortar library. No physical library collection looks like same, and that holds true for digital collections, too.
Libraries often consider a lot of different factors when they purchase materials. Things like budget, population size, and the languages their patrons speak can all factor into what they decide to buy. So, if you have an active library card to multiple library systems that use Libby, you broaden the amount of books you have to choose from.
If you ever have any questions about the Libby app, you can always browse the Libby Help site or contact OverDrive’s technical support team directly in the Libby app. I had the chance to assist their team at the beginning of the pandemic, and they are an incredibly knowledgeable and friendly group of folks. I promise!