I’ve been an avid Libby user for about two years. As you may know, the Libby app allows you to borrow eBooks and audiobooks by linking your library card to the app, so you’re borrowing from your library.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve learned some ways to use the app to its full benefit. Today, it’s one of my most-used apps. Below are my tips for using the Libby app:
1. Partner Libraries
See if your local library has partnered with other libraries to provide access to more eBooks and audiobooks. My local library is partnered with six other libraries. Having access to eBooks and audiobooks from all of these libraries has made it much easier for me to borrow the books I want to read.
To see if your local library has partnered with other libraries, click the “Menu” button in the Libby app. At the bottom of the screen, it’s the icon in the middle that looks like this:
You’ll see a heading called “Partner Libraries,” and any relevant libraries listed below. You can automatically borrow eBooks and audiobooks from these libraries using your local library card.
If your library is partnered with other libraries, when you’re putting a hold on a title, the Libby app will place the hold from the library with the shortest wait time.
If you have a title on hold and want to see if things have changed and there’s a shorter wait time at another library, or if another library has now obtained the title, just select where the estimated wait time is shown (e.g., “~4 weeks”) and you’ll see the wait times at the other libraries you have access to.
However, your wait time at your local library might be shorter than Libby indicates, and your wait time at a partner library might be longer than Libby indicates. Depending on the partnership, you might move up a partner library waitlist more slowly than you would with your local library. I’ve found that sometimes if I put a hold on a title at a partner library, I move down the list over time instead of up the list (I assume because local library members who later put holds on the same title are prioritized). Related to this, once you place a hold at your local library, you might see your place jump in that line, meaning it’s a shorter wait time than originally noted (again, because you take priority as a local library member). This has happened to me many times. Keep this in mind when comparing wait times!
2. Use Tags
When I hear about a book that hasn’t been released yet that I want to borrow from the Libby app, I search the title in Libby. If it appears, I select the “Notify Me” tag. Then, as soon as the book becomes available through the Libby app, I receive a notification from Libby letting me know. This lets me borrow the book right away, or at least put a hold on it quickly.
I also created a “to borrow” tag that I often use. When I come across books on the Libby app that I want to borrow, but not right away, I use the “to borrow” tag so that I can come back to those books when I’m ready to borrow them.
3. Become a Member of an American Library
This one is for Canadians who use a Kindle. When you borrow an eBook from a Canadian library with the Libby app, those eBooks are not compatible with Kindles. However, that’s not true of American libraries.
Some American libraries let non-residents pay to become a member (e.g., the Queens Public Library in New York). If you have an American library card linked to your Libby app, then when you borrow an e-Book, it will be compatible with your Kindle.
Alternatively, if you use a Kobo, your Canadian library card will let you borrow eBooks that are compatible with your Kobo.
Do you use the Libby app? What tips have you learned along the way?
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