The Free Library in Your Pocket (Libby)

The 60-Second Version

If you only remember a handful of things from this guide, make it these.

• Libby lets you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your public library, free.
• All you need is a library card and its PIN, plus the free Libby app.
• Install Libby from the Play Store, then add your library and sign in with your card.
• Borrow a book with one tap; it opens right in the app to read or listen.
• Books return themselves on their own, so there is never a late fee.

What Libby Is

Libby is a free app that turns your phone into a branch of your public library. Through it, you can borrow ebooks, which you read on the screen, and audiobooks, which are read aloud to you.

Libby is made by a company called OverDrive, which works with thousands of public libraries. Your library pays for the books; you simply borrow them, just as you would borrow a printed book from the shelf. When your borrowing time is up, the book returns itself and someone else can enjoy it.

• Borrow ebooks and read them right on your phone.
• Borrow audiobooks and listen while you cook, walk, or rest your eyes.
• Search the whole library catalog without leaving your chair.
• Keep several books borrowed at once, all in one tidy place.

What You Need: A Library Card and PIN

To use Libby, you need just two things: a library card from your public library, and the PIN or password that goes with it. If you already have a card, you are nearly ready.

Do not worry if the PIN slips your mind. It happens to everyone. A quick phone call to your local library, or a visit to their front desk, will get it reset in a moment. They are used to the question and are always glad to help you get reading.

• Find your library card and have it in front of you.
• Note the long card number printed on it.
• Have your PIN or password ready — often the last four digits of your phone number, or one you chose.
• If you do not have a card yet, most libraries let you sign up online or in person in a few minutes.

Installing Libby from the Play Store

The Play Store is the safe, official place to get apps on your Android phone. Libby lives there, free, and installing it takes only a minute.

Once installed, Libby sits with your other apps. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to see all your apps, or pull down and search for Libby by name. If you like, you can drag it onto your home screen so it is always easy to find.

• Open the Play Store — the icon that looks like a colorful triangle.
• Tap the search box at the top and type Libby.
• Look for Libby, by OverDrive, and tap it.
• Tap Install, then wait for it to finish and tap Open.

Finding and Adding Your Library

The first time you open Libby, it helps you connect to your own public library. This is a one-time step, and Libby makes it wonderfully simple.

Sometimes several libraries show up, such as your town library and a wider county system. Pick the one your card belongs to. If you are not sure, the name printed on your card is the surest guide. You can always add another library later, so there is no harm in choosing and adjusting.

• Open Libby and tap through the friendly welcome screens.
• When it offers, let it search for a library near you, or tap to search by name.
• You can also type your zip code or library name to find it.
• Tap your library when it appears in the list.

Signing In with Your Library Card

With your library chosen, the last setup step is to sign in with your card. This tells Libby you are a member, so it can let you borrow.

You only sign in once. From then on, Libby remembers you and opens straight to the books. If you ever get a new phone, you sign in again there the same way, and all your borrowing carries over with your card. Keep your card number and PIN somewhere safe, as you would any important detail.

• When Libby asks, tap Sign In With My Card.
• Type in your library card number, the long number printed on the card.
• Type your PIN or password when asked.
• Tap Sign In, and Libby is ready to lend you books.

Finding Your Way Around Libby

Libby is built to feel simple, with just a few areas to know. Once you can find these, everything else falls into place.

You tap along the bottom of the screen to move between the Library, where you find books, and your Shelf, where the books you have borrowed live. That back-and-forth is most of what you will ever do in Libby. Do not worry about the rest for now; these two areas cover your everyday reading.

• Library: where you search and browse for books to borrow.
• Shelf: where your borrowed books and any holds wait for you.
• The search magnifying glass, for looking up a title or author.
• A menu button, usually the Libby circle, for settings and help.

Searching for a Book

When you have a book or author in mind, searching takes you straight to it. And when you do not, browsing is a lovely way to happen upon something new.

In the Library area, Libby lays out shelves of suggestions: popular books, new arrivals, and books grouped by kind, such as mysteries or biographies. Scrolling through them is a gentle way to find your next good read, just as you might wander the aisles at the library.

• Tap the magnifying glass or search box.
• Type the title of a book, or the name of an author you enjoy.
• Tap a result to see what it is about and whether it is available.
• You can search for audiobooks the same way, or filter to show only those.

Borrowing a Book

Borrowing is the heart of Libby, and it could not be simpler. When you find a book you want that is available, it takes just a tap or two to have it.

Most libraries let you borrow several books at once and keep each for about two or three weeks. When you finish early, you can return a book to free up a slot; if you need longer, you can often renew it, as long as no one else is waiting. Libby shows the days remaining right on your Shelf.

• Tap the book you want to see its details.
• Tap Borrow.
• Libby shows your borrowing period, usually a couple of weeks; tap Borrow again to confirm.
• The book lands on your Shelf, ready to open and read or listen.

Reading in the App

Once a book is on your Shelf, reading it is a pleasure. Libby turns your phone into a comfortable, glare-free page you can hold in one hand.

From the menu you can make the text bigger, change the background to a softer shade, and set the screen to stay on while you read. Libby keeps your exact place, even across a phone and a tablet, so you can read a few pages here and there and never lose your spot. We look at making the text larger on its own page shortly.

• Go to your Shelf and tap Open Book, or tap the cover.
• Turn the page by tapping the right side of the screen, or swiping.
• Tap the middle of the screen to bring up the menu and settings.
• Libby remembers your place, so you can close it and come back any time.

Your Shelf: Everything in One Place

Your Shelf is your own corner of Libby, where every book you have borrowed and every hold you are waiting on sits together, ready when you are.

Tap Manage Loan on any book and you can renew it, return it early, or see its due date. On the Holds side, you can check your place in line or cancel a hold you no longer want. Everything to do with your borrowing is gathered here, so you never have to hunt around.

• Loans: the books and audiobooks you have borrowed, each showing days left.
• Holds: the busy books you are waiting in line for.
• Tags: your own little labels, if you like to group books together.
• A tap opens any loan to read or listen straight away.

Listening to Audiobooks

Audiobooks are one of Libby's great gifts. A narrator reads the book aloud to you, so you can enjoy a story while you cook, garden, take a walk, or simply rest your eyes.

Two touches make audiobooks even nicer. You can adjust the reading speed, slowing a fast narrator down or speeding a slow one up, until it feels just right. And a sleep timer lets you set the book to stop on its own after, say, fifteen minutes, so it does not read on all night if you drift off. Both are on the playing screen, marked with a small clock and a speed dial.

• Borrow an audiobook the same way as a book, then tap Open Audiobook on your Shelf.
• Tap the round play button to begin, and the same button to pause.
• Tap the little arrows to jump back or ahead by a few seconds.
• Use the buttons on the side of the phone for the volume.

Placing a Hold When There's a Waitlist

A library has only so many digital copies of a popular book, just as it has only so many on the shelf. When they are all borrowed, you can place a hold to reserve your turn.

When a copy becomes free, Libby lets you know and, in most cases, borrows it for you automatically so you do not miss your turn. You can also set it to simply notify you, so you borrow it when you are ready. Either way, you will not lose your place in line, and there is nothing to keep checking.

• When a book is not available now, you will see Place Hold instead of Borrow.
• Tap Place Hold, and Libby adds you to the waiting list.
• It will estimate how long the wait might be.
• Your holds wait for you on your Shelf, so you can check on them any time.

Automatic Returns: Nothing Is Ever Late

Here is perhaps the most reassuring thing about Libby: you can never rack up a late fee. When your borrowing time is up, each book simply returns itself.

With printed books, a forgotten return meant a fine and a guilty trip to town. Libby does away with all of that. If you do not finish in time, the book gently returns itself, and you can simply borrow it again or place a hold. There is never a fee, never a nag, and never a thing to remember.

• Each borrowed book has a due date, shown on your Shelf.
• On that date, the book returns to the library on its own, with nothing for you to do.
• You can also return a book early: tap Manage Loan, then Return Early.
• Returning early frees the copy for the next reader and clears a slot for you.

Adjusting Text Size for Easy Reading

One of the finest things about reading on a phone is that you are no longer stuck with tiny print. In Libby, you can make the words as large and clear as you like.

There is no prize for reading small print. Make the letters generous, choose a soft cream or dark background if it is easier on your eyes, and give the lines a little more space. The book flows to fit whatever you choose, so you always see full, comfortable pages. It is your reading, made to measure.

• Open a book, then tap the middle of the screen to show the menu.
• Tap the settings button, often marked with the letters A A.
• Slide the text-size control until the words are comfortable to read.
• You can also change the typeface, line spacing, and background shade.

Sending Library Ebooks to a Kindle

If you already own a Kindle and love reading on its paper-like screen, you are in luck. In the United States, Libby can send many of your borrowed library ebooks straight to your Kindle to read there instead.

This is purely a matter of taste. If you find a Kindle's screen kinder on your eyes than a phone, sending the book there is a nice option. If you are happy reading in Libby itself, there is no need to bother with it at all. The book is the same either way, and it still returns itself on time.

• Borrow an ebook in Libby as usual.
• On your Shelf, tap the book, then look for Read With and choose Kindle.
• Libby hands you to Amazon, where you sign in and confirm sending it to your Kindle.
• The book then appears on your Kindle, ready to read.

Using Libby on a Tablet Too

If you have an Android tablet as well as your phone, Libby works just as nicely on the bigger screen, and the two stay in step with each other.

Because Libby keeps your account in step, you can read a chapter on the phone in a waiting room, then carry on that evening on the tablet, right where you left off. The larger screen is a treat for reading, while the phone is always in your pocket for a spare moment. Use whichever suits the moment.

• On your tablet, open the Play Store and install Libby, just as you did on the phone.
• Open Libby and add the same library.
• Sign in with the same library card and PIN.
• Your borrowed books and holds appear on the tablet automatically.

It's Completely Free, Always

It bears repeating, because it is such good news: Libby and everything you borrow through it are free. Your public library pays for it all. Knowing this also helps you steer clear of the few tricks out there.

Because Libby is genuinely free, treat anything that asks you to pay as a warning sign. Get the app only from the Play Store, and if a website or email promises library books for a fee or wants your card details, walk away. When in doubt about whether something is the real thing, do not enter any details.

• The Libby app is free to install.
• Every ebook and audiobook you borrow is free.
• There are no late fees, ever, because books return themselves.
• You will never be asked for a credit card to borrow a library book.

A Simple Reading Plan

You do not need every feature at once. Get comfortable borrowing and reading first, then add a trick or two as you go. Here is a gentle order to follow.

Once borrowing feels natural, explore the rest — reading on a tablet too, sending a book to a Kindle if you have one, and lining up a whole row of holds. There is no rush. Learn one thing at a time and let it settle before the next. Keep the cheat sheet on the following page nearby.

• Install Libby, add your library, and sign in with your card.
• Search for a book or author you already love and borrow it.
• Open it on your Shelf and make the text a comfortable size.
• Try an audiobook, and set the sleep timer for bedtime.
• Place a hold on a popular book so it comes to you when it is free.

What's in the 27-page PDF

• What Libby is and what you need (pages 3-4)
• Installing Libby and adding your library (pages 5-7)
• Searching, borrowing, and reading a book (pages 8-11)
• Listening to audiobooks and placing holds (pages 12-13)
• Automatic returns, bigger text, and Kindle (pages 14-16)
• Using it on a tablet and keeping it free (pages 17-19)
• A simple plan, a cheat sheet, and a word list (pages 20-22)

Why I wrote this

I write these as printable handouts because a guide you can keep in a drawer beats a web page you have to find again. No jargon, no judgment, no rushing. If you'd rather have someone sit beside you and go through it together, that's a flat $99 first visit with the 30-day follow-up included — serving Portage County from Atwater, Ohio. — Bill