What is Libby and Why You Should Get It
posted by Margaret Potagal
Tired of walking or driving to the library every time you finish a book? Tired of overpaying for ebooks? Tired of not having your book with you everywhere saved to the exact spot you left off? Then I have the solution for you! Introducing… Libby! *cue cheesy advertisement reveal noises*
Libby is a free app that partners with countless library networks across the globe including our own Minuteman Library Network; meaning if you have a library card from Needham library, you can log in with your card number and have free access to thousands of books! According to their description on the Apple App store; “All over the world, local libraries offer millions of ebooks and audiobooks. You can borrow them — for free, instantly — with a library card and Libby: the award-winning, much-loved app for libraries.” Some of the awards in question are the Apple Editor’s Choice award and the Apple App of the Day Award. Libby is also available on Google Play for those that prefer android. In fact, Libby was named one of Google Play’s Best Apps of 2017.
So what is so great about Libby that caused it to receive all of these accolades? Well, Libby allows you to borrow and enjoy ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. You can also download anything you have checked out for offline reading, or just stream it to save storage space on your device. You can use tags and create lists for books you want. Libby allows you to listen to audiobooks through Apple CarPlay, and for libraries in the United States, there’s a feature where you can even send your ebooks to your Kindle! Of course the feature that I mentioned in the introduction, and arguably one of the most helpful, is Libby allows you to keep your reading position automatically synced on all your devices.
You might say, “all of these features sound wonderful, but what does reading on Libby actually look like?” In Libby’s intuitive ebook reader you are able to adjust text size, background color, and book design, zoom into magazines and comic books, define and search for words and phrases, and add bookmarks, notes, and highlights.
If you are an audio book enthusiast, Libby also allows you to slow down or speed up the audio (0.6 to 3.0x), set a sleep timer, and swipe to skip forward and backward.
As I currently write this blog, three staff members in the tech office also positively commented on this app, with one saying that she listened to an audiobook on Libby on the way to the school this morning. So don’t just take it from me, take it from all four of us in the tech office and an anonymous app store user. Get Libby!