 Logo of Libby | |
 Libby mobile app | |
| Developer(s) | OverDrive, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Available in | 15 languages |
List of languages Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) English | |
| Website | libbyapp |
Libby is amobile app that supports users in accessing library ebooks. It is a product ofOverDrive, Inc. The app uses a user'slibrary card number to connect to the user's library account and check out ebooks. Once books are checked out, the app serves as an ebook reader.[2]
According to OverDrive CEO Steve Potash, as of 2023, Libby is used by approximately 90% of public libraries in North America.[3]
A reviewer forLiterary Review of Canada praised Libby's management of reading data, including books read and books in queue for reading.[4] A reviewer forTime called Libby one of the best apps of 2018.[5]Popular Mechanics named Libby as one of the best apps of the 2010s.[6]
Libby and its parent company, OverDrive, are owned by the private equity firmKKR.[7]
Like other firms owned by private equity, Libby has been the subject of critiques focused on its ownership structure. Some have argued, for example, that Libby's business model, which depends on charging libraries for digital licenses that are timebound or limited to a certain number of uses or uses, has diverted libraries' acquisitions budgets away from physical media toward increasingly expensive subscriptions, which do not contribute to the long-term growth of a library's underlying assets.[8]
Growth in costs driven by Libby utilization has led some public libraries to impose digital borrowing limits.[9]
Libby Book Awards is a book award contest put on by Libby. The first annual contest was held in 2024 and featured winners for Fiction, Nonfiction, Young Adult, Audiobook, Debut Author, Diverse Author, Comic Graphic Novel, Memoir & Autobiography, Cookbook, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Book Club Pick.[10]