Do you love reading books? Do you want audiobooks and ebooks for free? Hi, you are at the right place. Meet Libby, your best friend, as you borrow Free ebooks, magazines, and digital audiobooks from your library. All you will need is a Library card—millions of library patrons across North America and other people around the world trust Libby.
To know more about Libby, read this article until the end to learn the pros and cons, its features, and much more.
Let’s start with.
Also Read –
Library Genesis: A free platform to download books and articles
5+ Best TextSheet Alternatives for Study in 2020
10 Best educational apps for students – Learning apps to Learn new things
Contents
What is Libby?
Libby is a reading app released by Overdrive, where you can borrow absolutely free ebooks, eaudios, and magazines from your library’s overdrive collection. Millions of ebooks and eaudios are offered by local libraries all over the world. Borrow books from the best sellers and read them anytime and anywhere. You can stream the titles with mobile data or wi-fi or download them for offline use. All you will need here is the Library Card. It is highly recommended for those who are new to borrowing ebooks and eudios. Libby is the easiest way to get started from your corporate, public, or academic library.
Devices That Are Compatible with Libby
Libby is compatible with both android and iOS devices (iPad/iPhone) and Windows 10 devices.
Note: Libby is available only for Amazon (non- kindle) and not for kindle.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Libby
Advantages:
- No Sponsored posts or Ads – the best part about Libby is that the books they promote are being promoted because of the quality of the content and not in terms of the marketing budget. Libby doesn’t earn or get money from publishing houses. But it earns from donations and the government. So when you find any ads or promotions in Libby. Then it is authentically good content and not made out of money.
- Compatibility and interface – Libby works way smoother than any other apps with the same capabilities. Libby allows you to see the percentage of your progress while listening to audiobooks which is wonderful. It is highly compatible with both android as well as iOS devices.
- Users can easily switch between libraries and library cards – if you have multiple cards for the same library, you can easily switch between them.
- Easily locate what’s available and what’s not – are you worried about your library’s limited selection of audiobooks and ebooks? Yes, of course, you would be concerned because it is like an obstacle in between your reading experience. Do not worry; Libby has a solution for you! Libby has got a recent update, where you can easily find out the books that are readily available and the books which need to be put directly on hold from the list screen. If the books are available, the three dots to the right of the title will be pale in colour. If the books are on hold, the dots will be darkened.
How you may handle it is to tag all the books you want to read. So that whenever you are ready to read a book, all you will have to do is scroll the list once and check what is available and what is or need a hold. This might just take a few seconds.
Disadvantages:
- No site exclusives – if you run a podcast or read your favourite book for more than two hours without a time limit. Then you will have to stick with the paid services offered by Amazon.
- Limited database and time limit – there’s a time to finish reading the books. Usually, you get two weeks or less to complete popular audiobooks. So basically, it is like the more popular the book is, the less time you get to finish reading it. Or you will have to pay if extended.
- Not available on desktops – it is a disadvantage for people who read books on the desktop or have the desktop itself or might love reading on the desktop because Libby isn’t available on the desktops.
You may also like – Kahoot | Free Online Learning Platform For everyone| Complete Guide|
Few Things To Love About Libby
- It doesn’t log you out.
- The books that are on hold automatically get added to your shelf.
- You can stream online or download the book and read it offline.
- Also, you can easily check upon your prior Libby activity.
- You get the option to either download the books manually or automatically.
How to use Libby?
Step 1 – Download and install the app from your device’s app store.
Step 2 – follow the rules mentioned and sign in with a valid library card.
Step 3 – browse your library’s title and borrow a title from there. Titles may vary and depend on your library.
Difference Between Libby and OverDrive App
Libby is a fast, attractive, and newer app released by Overdrive. It has a similar collection of titles, just like an overdrive app. The way of getting access is different. It is compatible with both android as well as iOS.
Whereas, overdrive is a classic app, which is also compatible with many devices, including windows mobile devices and kindle fire. Since Libby is a new app, it doesn’t have many features like the overdrive app.
Top Best Alternatives of Libby
- Audible – it is one of the world’s largest providers of premium audiobooks. Users can enjoy reading books in a whole new way.
- LibriVox – the books here are available for free, in audio formats. Librivox asks volunteers to record chapters in digital format for the public domain.
- OverDrive Media Console – download audio books and ebooks from your library directly to your devices.
- Audiobook Bay – read, share, and download your audiobooks for free, with high quality and security.
Also read – 10 Best learning apps that will update you with the Latest Technology
Final Words
Libby has become a favorite app for book lovers and book worms. Hope you have clearly understood about the app. And start installing on your devices for free. We have covered almost everything in this article. Libby’s pros and cons, its features, etc., are all the best! Have a great day.
FAQ’s
Yes, you can use more than one library card from different libraries.
- What title does Libby have?
The title depends on your library because it chooses which digital title they would like to have and provides in Libby. It has lending policies, too, such as how long you can borrow the titles and how many you can borrow.
Note: It has only digital titles.
- Is Libby free to use?
ly free to use. You will have to pay only if you borrow a book and do not finish reading the book within the given time limit or extend the time limit.