Have you been using OverDrive to get eBooks and audio books for a long time? Well, there is a change coming, and it’s name is Libby.
OverDrive, the company that provides eBooks and audiobooks to Heights Libraries, will retire the Overdrive app by the end of 2022, and is encouraging current users to switch to Libby, the official replacement for the OverDrive app.
When is Overdrive Going Away?
OverDrive will remove the OverDrive app from the Apple App Store, Google Play, and the Microsoft Store on February 23, 2022. This means that after Feb. 23, 2022, you will no longer be able to download and use the OverDrive app from your apps store on your mobile device. OverDrive is discontinuing support of the OverDrive App and they hope to have all OverDrive App users switched over to the Libby App by end of 2022 and the eventual retirement of the app. So, what does this mean for you?
After Feb 23, 2022, if you have the OverDrive app you will be able to keep using it, but as time goes on the app will eventually get retired and not work.
Now would be a great time to switch to Libby!
Libby, launched by Overdrive in 2017, is a great app that brings you both eBooks and audio books for free with your Cleveland Heights – University Heights Public Library card. Libby has even won a few awards like Apple Editor’s Choice Award, the Apple App of the Day Award and the Google Play Editor’s Choice Award and has been praised by magazines such as Forbes, Readers Digest, Popular Science, and Library Journal.
Here are a few features that Libby offers:
- Read across devices: All your loans, notes, bookmarks, and reading progress sync across your devices. That means you can have your book to read on your cell phone and your tablet so that while one is charging you can continue to read on the other.
- Offline access: Download eBooks and audiobooks for offline reading, or stream them to save space. Download a book and take it with you on a trip without having to use up your data. Or stream them using WIFI and save storage on your mobile device.
- Listen in your car: Enjoy audiobooks in your car through Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or a Bluetooth connection. Download an audiobook and listen on your long commute to work, or that road trip you’re taking with the family.
- Send to Kindle: If you prefer reading on your Kindle, Libby can send your library books to it. (U.S. libraries only) If you have a Kindle e-reader you can get eBooks from the library with the Libby app and have them on your Kindle device.
- Browse, search, and discover: There are thousands of eBooks and audiobooks, hand-selected by Heights Libraries, available for reading. Explore the collection through catalog guides, subjects, featured titles, and curated lists.
- A state-of-the-art reading experience: Libby’s eBook reader makes it easy to customize how you read. You can adjust an eBook’s font size, book layout, and lighting. As you read, you can also add bookmarks, create notes and highlights, and define words.
- An intuitive and beautiful audiobook player: Libby makes it simple to listen when, where, and how you want. Swipe on the book cover to skip backward or forward. Increase playback speed up to 3x. Set a sleep timer until the end of the chapter or for 5, 10, 30 minutes, or more.
How do you get the Libby App? Simply download it from your app store, either the Apple Store or Google Play. If you are a PC user, you can go to https://libbyapp.com/ and use Libby on your PC. You can check out Heights Libraries’ video tutorials in this blog post for help getting started with Libby once it’s downloaded!
Is Libby free? Yes, Libby is completely free. It’s free to install, and there are no subscription costs, no in-app purchases, and no late fees. All you need is a valid CHUH Library card or eMedia Card.
What are you waiting for? Switch now to Libby and continue getting all the great audio and eBooks you love with an award-winning app. It’s simple, easy and fun!
I tried Libby, hated it. Feels childish.
Keeping Overdrive til it dies.
Please bring back overdrive!
Have used Overdrive for years recently bought a Kobo Clara to still use Overdrive now they are ending it and kobo are saying they don’t support Libby so hiw do we get our library books?
The libby search function sucks. I search for books that I know my library has and they don’t come up. However, if I search for them on the overdrive app there they are. Not happy.
Love the Overdrive App. It is so easy to use. Libby is awful. Why can’t we still have the choice to choose which one we want to use?
Libby is clearly for children. It is not intuative and very difficult to understand. You can not reccomend books, you have no history, you have no available now in wish list, they took ALL the good stuff out and pretend libby is better. It is only better if you are a child.
I hate it and iys embarrasing when colorful pages pop up and say GOOD JOB when you borrow a book… GET RID OF LIBBY
I tried switching over and I HATE Libby. Overdrive is so straightforward and easy to use, why change to something clunky, and unintuitive?!
Libby is a disaster. Clunky and awkward. There is no application for recommending books and none of the latest books are even in their library.
Horrible app. Filtering on the tags and nothing comes up in available now filter even though there are books available on my list. It’s clumsy, non intuitive, no actual flow to the way it works. And where is my account settings? Kinda ticked that Overdrive is going g away. They need to fix this app.
Libby search is just as poorly organized as netflox. No idea why they are forcing us to use it instead of the clear structure of Overdrive. Feels like a data gathering scam.
Sure, Libby sounds so wonderful. Try to see other reader’s ratings. Try to search by a specific search parameter. Try to view your holds in a list. No can do. No help text addresses these desirable features.
Libby is HORRIBLE. None of my library books will download onto my Kindle. Libby’s troubleshooting directions for downloading content onto a Kindle are outdated and do not work. You have to go to Amazon and I have twice had to contact Amazon customer support and deregister/reregister my Kindle in order to get my content. I have to jump through these hoops EVERY TIME I try to download a library book onto my Kindle using Libby. Libby obviously does not work well with Amazon. I never had ANY issues using the Overdrive app. A library book would download with three clicks and in 5 minutes. I am so angry and frustrated.
Beth, we are so sorry you are unhappy with Libby. Please call and talk to one of our reference staff for support, 216-932-3600, option 2.
We are so sorry you are unhappy with Libby. Please call and talk to one of our reference staff for help, 216-932-3600, option 2.
Libby sucks!!!!
Libby is the worst book app I’ve used. Makes no sense, can’t look anything up, was in the middle of a book IN LIBBY and tried to renew it and Libby says it doesn’t exist.
Libby is simply awful. search is terrible, interface is designed for 6 year olds, even the smallest fonts are enormous. It’s a huge step backwards for electronic books.
I can’t believe anyone thinks that Libby is easier to use than OverDrive. It is cumbersome, unwieldy and just plain frustrating. Please do NOT retire Overdrive!!!!!
I am just one more person to agree with the rest that the Libby app is for children. Yes it’s “pretty “ but I would rather have the excellent useful app overdrive. Why are you messing with our perfect app and FORCING us to use a less than mediocre app??????
Everyone who posted that Libby is a horrible App is correct. It’s just very poorly designed. Overdrive really is FAR easier to use and understand. I spent many years designing and programming computer software.
And Libby really is a disaster. It’s just way more trouble than it’s worth.
Tried Libby years ago..so bad. I love overdrive. Libby hasn’t improved one tiny bit. Keep overdrive please.
The Libby app needs work. In the interim readers, students and those getting ahead with the help of an app like Overdrive suffer in an irreplaceable downtime. Please address this ASAP.
I hate Libby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is childish, not helpful, can’t recommend books anymore. If they have the book in e-book form there is no option to recommend in audio form. It is useless and for what I need, worthless. Why would they force this on us?
I’m so happy that I’m not the only one who desperately misses Overdrive! Misery loves company, I guess. Overdrive was very straightforward and economical. Libby seems to be all over the place, in terms of how to navigate from one place to another.