• Libby

Libby

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Overview

Libby has a rating of 1.6 stars from 39 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Libby ranks 206th among Ebook sites.

  • Service
    11
  • Value
    11
  • Shipping
    3
  • Returns
    3
  • Quality
    14
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
4
How would you rate Libby?
Top Positive Review

“Reduced functionality”

T. H.
8/16/23

Many public libraries swithed from Overdrive to Libby, apparently written by the same authors as Overdrive. Unfortunately, Libby suffers from such reduced functionality (search and filter functions) it has been rendered useless. My reading lists are quite broad, but unless the author or title is on some commercial "Top 100 Bestsellers" list, it doesn't even appear, whether it's available or not. Please, go back to Overdrive, or else get a better search and checkout engine.

Top Critical Review

“Terrible APP, awful user experience”

Bob S.
5/19/24

Terrible user experience, no logic to where nav takes you, you click back it takes you to a main page as opposed to the previous search results. The app frequently crashes, must be terrible coding practices and poor QA. On some devices (iPad and iPhone) the apps syncs a book (where you are in the book) most of the time you have to manually find where you were in other devices. Tech support just says delete and re-install, customer is always wrong I suppose

Reviews (39)

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Thumbnail of user bobs1646
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
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May 19th, 2024

Terrible user experience, no logic to where nav takes you, you click back it takes you to a main page as opposed to the previous search results. The app frequently crashes, must be terrible coding practices and poor QA. On some devices (iPad and iPhone) the apps syncs a book (where you are in the book) most of the time you have to manually find where you were in other devices. Tech support just says delete and re-install, customer is always wrong I suppose

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Thumbnail of user marianp144
1 review
1 helpful vote
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June 22nd, 2024

It's crap at downloading over wi-fi.
It fails often, takes many times, chapters are missing, etc.
What poor programming!

Products used:
Libby

Thumbnail of user debbiep899
1 review
2 helpful votes
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January 24th, 2024

Granted, Adobe Digital Editions was frustrating with it not being serviced and all but Libby is awful. Overdrive was great so I don't see why the push to change the app since all you really needed to do is replace ADE with an app that works consistantly. But no, you have to make a whole new system that's clunky, looses some functionality and made me cry.
I'm disabled great-grandmother and I'm really hate the fact that I can no longer load a book onto my older iPad 4 and read it. Sitting for any length of time on my PC is painful so that's out. I'm just going to close my brower and see if I feel any better about this tomorrow but I'm guessing that will be a no and that you all really don't care.

Quality
Thumbnail of user t.h7
1 review
5 helpful votes
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August 16th, 2023
Verified purchase

Many public libraries swithed from Overdrive to Libby, apparently written by the same authors as Overdrive. Unfortunately, Libby suffers from such reduced functionality (search and filter functions) it has been rendered useless. My reading lists are quite broad, but unless the author or title is on some commercial "Top 100 Bestsellers" list, it doesn't even appear, whether it's available or not. Please, go back to Overdrive, or else get a better search and checkout engine.

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Quality
Thumbnail of user miked2072
1 review
8 helpful votes
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February 9th, 2023

Anything popular you have to wait months for. Finally got still life, after waiting 8 weeks, only to find it had been returned 9 days early (not by me). Now I'd have to wait 13/weeks! Forget that, totally useless. Barnes and Noble, here I come.
Now they threaten to filter out my review because I won't submit proof of purchase. It's a free app, idiots!

Tip for consumers:
Better off at a paid site.

Products used:
Books I had to wait months to borrow

Quality
Thumbnail of user susanc3717
1 review
24 helpful votes
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December 10th, 2022

Recently switched to Libby, because apparently Overdrive will not be available in 2023. I was totally disappointed when sitting in my car, eating lunch I found out my books on Libby can't be accessed without wifi. Very often I am without wifi at a restaurant, a doctor's office, etc; places I've always been able to open Overdrive and read my already downloaded books. I am so unhappy about this. I guess if I want to sit in the park, under a shade tree and read, I'll need to go back to reading actual books. This sucks, Libby!

Thumbnail of user peterl1760
1 review
7 helpful votes
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May 11th, 2023

In March 2023 Libby started running hot. My iPhone got very hot and battery power level was declining rapidly after 10 minutes of reading. Before March I had used Libby on the same iPhone for years with no problems. Something changed in March. My IOS is 12.5 and will not update as it is an old iPhone. Now I have to go to the library to get a paper book. Very disappointing!

Thumbnail of user ag395
1 review
10 helpful votes
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April 27th, 2023

I used overdrive so that I could listen to audiobooks while driving and/or exercising. Without a WiFi connection it is worthless. I can only listen to these downloads in my home via the internet. Again, useless. AND very clunky. It lost all of my history of titles I've "read" that were easy to search on Overdrive. I could say more, but it would insult the web developers

Thumbnail of user jadawsonmd
1 review
14 helpful votes
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May 7th, 2023

Atrociously complex method of viewing books, One at a time! Seriously? Some IT factotum and group think thought ths would be better. It is not. Very hard to choose limited options for book searches, tedious borrowing and folks then remember to back to app choose "manage" download for example for kindle, return to app etc.etc. How does one choose reading level or sort available from wait list? ( by using panes which light up or go dark at random. And, I am just getting standard. This is e library for those who read a book a book a year. Bring back overdrive. Gave this app a good try - three months of pain.

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App

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Thumbnail of user keithb1328
1 review
22 helpful votes
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February 25th, 2023

After having used Overdrive since it was first introduced to borrow audiobooks from my local digital library and having listened to literally hundreds of them I can unequivocally say that Libby is horrible! It's clunky and totally unintuitive from a user's standpoint. The search engine when compared to Overdrive is a piece of junk. The attempt to create a cute website with cute icons looks like it was created for either 10 year olds or idiots. You people need to hire someone who knows who your target users are and what they want. Whoever made the decision to abandon Overdrive and promote Libby needs to find a new line of work!

Thumbnail of user kayp270
1 review
9 helpful votes
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June 16th, 2023

Loved Overdrive. Please bring it back. Simple to Use. Straightforward. Extremely adjustable reading pane, fonts, margins. Libby is messy and needlessly complicated and not very adjustable. It's missing a lot of the things I loved about Overdrive. I don't enjoy reading on Libby. Also Overdrive always worked. Not sure why Libby is not working right now for searching out a new book. It must be down? Overdrive was never down. Bring back Overdrive!

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Thumbnail of user teris276
1 review
15 helpful votes
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March 22nd, 2023

If I download a book it should be available whether or not I'm connected to a Wi-Fi source. Not the case with Libby…it is not as efficient as Overdrive nor as easy to use as Overdrive. I'm really frustrated. The app freezes as you turn a page, accessing my library's is confusing. I am an avid reader and enjoyed having the books at my disposal. I am not a fan of Libby

Thumbnail of user kathleenl1469
1 review
6 helpful votes
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July 9th, 2023

I used Overdrive on my ipad and it was great to take on trips and I could read for hours on one battery charge. Libby drains my battery in less than 2 hours. Other little disadvantages are that I could see the time and battery charge left at the top of the page in Overdrive but this doesn't show up in Libby until you back out of the reading pane.

Thumbnail of user gordg3
2 reviews
10 helpful votes
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May 4th, 2023

I tried Libby when it was first released. Unlike Overdrive I now need WiFi. I find the structure clunky. Reading a book on Overdrive I can see the number of pages in one corner and the number left to go in the chapter in the other. Useful when my wife wants to turn the light off. Not sure why Libby couldn't keep this feature. I contacted support and was told how I could do it, essentially leave the book. As a former IT guy it's rare to see a revamped app that is so much worse than the original. Why? Can't stand that the libraries are all endorsing this. They are like the Apple apologists in the past who could never accept any criticism of Apple. BTW I'm Apple all the way and they listened to consumers, unlike Overdrive.

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Thumbnail of user cunderwood700
1 review
12 helpful votes
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May 5th, 2023

Libby is infantile and a sub par experience to Overdrive. After years of Overdrive use I'm now looking for an alternative to Libby. I could go on for days about the experience but all I will say now is bring Overdrive back or align Libby more closely to it. What a waste of my time.

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Thumbnail of user kime450
1 review
14 helpful votes
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February 4th, 2023

Had to go to Libby because apparently Overdrive is gone. I live in the country with spotty cell service. If I don't start a book somewhere where there is cell service, I'm out of luck. Really sucks in the car. Never had this issue with Overdrive. Wish I didn't have to change.

Thumbnail of user marianneh517
1 review
13 helpful votes
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December 30th, 2022

Your service is still clunky. I should be able to filter out previously read books. Having to scroll through page after page of available books that I've already read is tedious. And, I've used Overdrive then Libby for many many years now. I should be able to merge all previously read books between the two apps together and I should Not need to export the data to a file! Hire some programmers!

Thumbnail of user davidh8543
1 review
11 helpful votes
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April 29th, 2023

Worst app ever. I've loved Overdrive for years. On ebooks, I always used accessability on my IOS, as a reader, but now Libby says must use voiceover instead. Unfortunately voiceover completely took over my iphone and shrouded my password so even after I finally figured out how to enter it, it won't accept it without first turning voiceover off, but now it does a 30 min lockout from even trying to log on whenever I put in my password. After hours of trying all the usual fixes for both iphone log in and turn off voiceover, Apple Care says probably the only way now is to wipe and restore. Thanks Libby guys, won't you please either keep Overdrive. Otherwise can anyone suggest an alternate Library app with a text reader that doesn't use voiceover?

Quality
Thumbnail of user carment235
1 review
3 helpful votes
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January 11th, 2024

I am a believer in giving a new system a chance to show it's 'worth'. For me, Libby has not. In my opinion, Neflin Overdrive was the nearest to perfect that a system can be. Every time I try to use Libby, it comes up short. The last was today when I borrowed a book and it did not appear on Kindle. I went back to Libby an found that the title was not available for Kindle. Why couldn't I know that before I Borrowed. I don't do Epub. Another, the book I searched for came up, Then I see the book is not even in the system for my library. But they will let me know if becomes available. Then I had to go to loans and cancel. Just another of the aggravations in this system. That's enough for now. Please go back to the Neflin overdrive we enjoyed before. Progress is good. If it is good progress, but this is definitely not good.
Carmen Templeton Flagler County, FL

Products used:
No Products. Libby is app for checking out e-books at Public library.

Thumbnail of user paulhw25
1 review
5 helpful votes
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July 5th, 2023

New iPad, downloaded app, logged in and tells me my card is invalid, yet I used the card and pin in a local library just 2 days ago!
On previous iPad (uninstalled app), the app was frustrating to use at best.
How I loathe Libby

Products used:
None

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Thumbnail of user michellen1337
1 review
9 helpful votes
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May 19th, 2023

The books freeze, audio books require wifi so I have purchased audio books through audible to listen to in the car.
I was told this was better than borrow box but there number of books is very limited

Thumbnail of user ishtiger1
1 review
12 helpful votes
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May 6th, 2023

Libby is a simpler version of the excellent Overdrive app. It doesn't do everything that it should and it looks like a kindergarten created it. It also behaves that way. It's extremely disappointing after having the excellent Overdrive app!

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Thumbnail of user megans1144
1 review
17 helpful votes
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December 30th, 2022

Used Overdrive for years. I download audiobooks for myself and my daughter. I used to be able to transfer these easily to my ipod nano. (This doesn't connect to the internet). My daughter used to listen to them on long car journeys and I'd listen to mine in the garden. Now you need to be connected to wifi. The whole purpose of audiobooks is to be able to listen to them on the move, doing something else. You have removed Overdrive which was easy to use and replaced it with something that is complicated and not fit for purpose. So disappointed.

Thumbnail of user kathleenm2159
1 review
12 helpful votes
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August 17th, 2022

My Aftershock headphones worked just fine with Overdrive, but as soon as I switched to Libby I have problems with it pausing. It also can be have problems with advertising coming up and overriding the audio for the book. Never had that with Overdrive. I'm sticking with Overdrive for as long as I can; Libby is just plain frustrating.

Thumbnail of user edn279
2 reviews
19 helpful votes
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March 11th, 2023

I actually tried Libby before I switched to Overdrive. Libby is unintuitive, clunky and less functional than Overdrive. I understand that at some point Overdrive won't work anymore but then and only then will i downgrade from Overdrive to Libby. I wish i could rate this app less than 1 star.

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