OverDrive’s Libby app has new, helpful updates

Libby is a reading app for borrowing digital books and audiobooks from the library's OverDrive collection. Libby app has now new, helpful updates.

Libby push notifications are now available on iOS and Android devices. Also when it comes to your ebook holds, a new feature called hold redelivery allows you even more flexibility than before.

Libby 6.0 is now available and has a number of exciting updates, the biggest one being the availability of push notifications. You never have to worry about missing a hold or worrying about when a digital book is going to expire again.

You can choose which notifications you’d like to receive from the Libby menu under Manage Notifications, including:

  • When a hold becomes available
  • When a loan is about to expire
  • When a loan has expired
  • And more

When you receive a push notification, you can swipe it to automatically open up Libby and be taken to your Reading Journey for that title. On the Reading Journey page, you’ll see displays of any previous interactions and activity with that book (notes, highlights, time read, etc.).

These notifications are device-specific, so you can set your notification preferences for each device you use Libby on. If your devices don’t support push notifications, you can opt to receive notifications via email or in the Libby menu.

In early 2020, a new feature called hold redelivery will replace auto-checkout, and Libby’s notifications will be a helpful tool for guiding you through the new experience.

What is hold redelivery?

Hold redelivery will allow you to suspend a hold even after it’s made available to you while maintaining its place on the wait list.

How will it work?

Libby notifications will alert you when your holds become available. After receiving notification that a hold is available, you can:

1) Borrow the title within three days.

2) Suspend the hold (redeliver it) and pass the book to the next person in line. After the suspension period (set by the user), the user will be able to borrow the book when the next copy is available.

3) Cancel the hold.

If you take no action, your hold will automatically be suspended one time for seven days. If no action is taken a second time, the hold will be canceled automatically.

You can read more about the changes here or on your Libby app.