Libby, by OverDrive

Robert Webb

1 year ago

The app is convoluted and confusing. May buttons are hidden or unlabeled. There's no flow so it's hard to know where you are in the app or how to get to what you want. It tries to be cute more than functional. Searching for audiobooks is tedious, requiring constant Forward and back navigating. Search results won't allow you to filter out books you've already listened to. Books in a series are only partially identified. The app is never improved or updated.

Rachel Shior

1 year ago

I use this app to listen to audiobooks, download books to my Kindle, and read magazines. I like that wait times for books on hold update as you move through the line. I like that I can build lists using tags, easily do searches, find curated lists from my library, and can look up books I've already enjoyed and get a list of similar books suggested. I wish I could set different playback speeds for different books so that I didn't have to manually change it every time I switched between books.

YPR 143

10 months ago

It's a lil weird that I have to put some books on hold, but I don't know how this app works. I have had some books in the hold section for 14 weeks. 3 months later it's still in 14 weeks to wait. Also there's a notify me section I've had books in there for 3 months. I don't think they'll ever be available. I'm usually on the go so the audio books are the best. I'm so happy that's an option. some of the series books are also not all available. it could be 7 book by 1/4/6 might only be available.

sarah patterson

10 months ago

I love this as long as I am not wanting a book immediately. it makes listening to books so much easier and I can experience books I wouldn't have before since I do not have to pay for them. I hate to say it, but I find it hard to DNF a book I have purchased or used audible credits on and I would like to th8nk that this app is going to help me truly figure out what I like to read without as much financial loss.

Kurt Schmidt

10 months ago

Very good way to read books on any phone, handheld, or tablet. Good support, very few glitches. Could use some more sophisticated management features, but well worth downloading. Nice and effective way to combine love of books and ease of electronics. Also great for audiobooks but absolutely attrociously useless for magazines. Still, for ebooks and audiobooks Very Highly Recommended!

Brianna B

10 months ago

It works ok most of the time, but it keeps turning off my story or completely shutting down altogether 20-45 min after I turn an audiobook on. I usually have to restart the app to get my story back. It crashes several times daily. It's incredibly annoying. Update Aug 8, 23: Just crashed again. I miss Overdrive. Libby still sucks. Update: June 6, 24: still crashes, still sucks.

PrayWithMe Today

11 months ago

I used to love this app. But now, my audio books, even if downloaded, will not play offline. This means I must have a wifi connection at all times. I've already uninstalled the app & and reinstalled it. Also, if the book does show it's fully downloaded, it's not sometimes & I can't listen to the rest of the book no matter what I do. It's very frustrating to get so close to the end & not be able to finish. I only use audio books.

Nicole Grant

10 months ago

I love this app. it has everything you need to check out and read books as though you were at the library. just a huge selection to choose from and provides an actual library to get a card with in case you don't have one already from your local library. it offers timers reminders and helps you stay on track with how much you've read and how far you have to go and each book also providing audiobooks that helps make it easier for people that prefer to read that way. I would refer to anyone!

Stephanie Daniel

11 months ago

Honestly there is nothing wrong with this app! In the many years I've been using it, I've had very few issues, and the couple of issues I have had were immediately addressed when I reached out to support. No other audiobook app is as integrated with public libraries as Libby, and the option to load multiple library cards into your profile opens up a truly massive amount of content. I would love to see a new Start from the Beginning option in audiobooks, for those of us who reread.

Lindsay Ohman Avery

10 months ago

The UI is not nearly as intuitive or efficient as the overdrive site/app was. Too many clicks to accomplish simple tasks such as seeing how long a wait is for a book. The back button doesn't go back to your previous screen. I don't love that my wishlist has now been combined with tagging. Overall I'm disappointed in the switch from overdrive to Libby.

Laura Bryant

10 months ago

I like the ease of choosing books from the comfort of my home. I might read about a book or see a review on TV. I can immediately go to Libby and place a hold on the book. I like the "deliver later" option. Before I discovered the option, it seemed that multiple books became available all at once. It's no longer a problem because I can have the book delivered at a different time.

Charis Vela

10 months ago

UPDATE 2024: Well most of the glitches have been fixed, to be fair. But when i search, i have to reapply all the filters EVERY TIME instead of searching with a saved set. I don't need books for children in Spanish. I need savable parameters. Used this app before when overdrive first started saying to try it. It was awful. My books would "play"with no audio and had to be re-downloaded to fix. Looks like it has not really changed. Very, very, very disappointed to be forced out of Overdrive app.

Kelly Vasquez

11 months ago

It has started just shutting off in the middle of reading the audiobook, as soon as I set the timer it goes off at last 2/3 more times. It won't run the full time set to timer and often it's within seconds of setting it up and putting it away to listen. Super frustrating and we have used the app for years, it seems like the last few months it has gotten worse. Deleted and reinstalled to no avail. Please fix it we love the opportunity to utilize the books and it used to be much better 😂

jim stred

11 months ago

Great functionality. I signed up with my library and have access to seven other libraries with my one card. If there's a wait list at one library, oftentimes it's available at another. I listen to a lot of audio books, and you can adjust the speed of the recording. I set my speed at 1.25. Still sounds great, and adds a little urgency and extra excitement to the dialog. You can download and listen offline, and auto return means no late fees. Love it!

Heather Snell

10 months ago

Great selection of audio books and books to rent (hard books) or virtual books. It makes listening or reading so much easier that they have such a large selection and variety of books available, vs having to purchase them. App is super easy to navigate. I opened my app this morning and all my tags are gone, just missing. I don't have an option to locate them at all, this is disappointing.

Yolanda Bee

11 months ago

I use Libby as an accompaniment to Audible. If I love the book and would like to reread it, or the wait is too long, I will purchase it from Audible. The playback is clear, and I love the ability to increase the speed! I also appreciate the feature that allows multiple library access. Although I don't use the feature much, it's nice to be able to read magazines too. I wish it automatically bookmarked. The biggest drawback is the wait times, but it's a public library, so it's expected.

Peter Hansen

10 months ago

Excellent audio player experience, you can find a wide selection of books from classics to new for free. However, the wait for a turn with popular titles can be frustrating (sometimes taking months for a turn, but their holds system is very handy). Also I can't recommend this to families because the content is as wide a real library (including the inappropriate) parents beware.