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If I had to buy every book I read, I wouldn’t be able to pay rent. Reading for free isn’t hard; I’m always exchanging books with friends, scouring my neighborhood’s little free libraries, shopping Stuff Your Kindle Day, and of course, I love my local library. However, as an e-reader expert and enthusiast, I’m almost always using a device for reading. But as I use and test e-readers, I still need to be able to use my library card and read for free. That’s where Libby comes in.
Libby is an app that connects you with your library’s digital collection so you can borrow e-books, audiobooks, and magazines. You can then enjoy these digital copies on your phone, tablet, or e-reader. The best part — it’s totally free.
Having used Libby for several years, it’s a crucial part of my content diet and an invaluable resource for staying well-read. This guide walks you through how it works, how to use it on Kindle and Kobo, plus some details on its updated hold system.
How does Libby work with your library card?
Felt like hitting the jackpot to find Emily Henry’s “Great Big Beautiful Life” as ready to borrow.
Credit: Screenshot: Libby
After several weeks, my copy of “Stag Dance” by Torrey Peters was finally ready to borrow and be added to my library.
Credit: Screenshot: Libby
Libby, which is part of the OverDrive system, connects you with your library’s digital collection. More than 90 percent of public libraries in North America use OverDrive, and Libby is available in 78 countries globally, so it’s a universal system.
To use Libby, sign in using your library card information from a participating public library. Have multiple library cards? You can attach as many cards to your account as you want. Once logged in, you can browse your library’s digital collection.
You can search for specific titles, or you can get suggestions from Libby as it highlights and curates titles. Some books will be ready to borrow right away, which you can check out and will automatically be added to your library.
Other books will require you to place a hold. New and popular books will often require long waits, because borrowing follows a licensed-copy model, but a pro tip: Having multiple library cards allows you to compare wait times at different libraries, so you can get in the shortest line.
Once a hold is ready to borrow, it will appear in your library, allowing you to check it out. The app also sends notifications for holds and loans. So if your library doesn’t have a title, add a smart tag on it, and you’ll be alerted when it gets a copy.
Libby lets you borrow books for up to 21 days, depending on your library’s rules. Some books can be renewed, while others that have people waiting to borrow them can’t be renewed. Books are returned automatically, which means no late fees.
A major 2025 Libby app update
If you’re new to Libby, this change won’t mean much to you, but existing users may have noticed a change to how holds work.
On Sept. 18, 2025, Libby made a major change to its hold system that upset some users. Now, instead of being able to delay holds for a certain amount of time, users will need to suspend holds until they’re ready to receive them.
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Users complained about the change, saying they won’t remember to unsuspend their holds. In response, Libby explained via Instagram that the new system: “helps libraries serve more readers by keeping books moving and reducing expired holds.”
Where can you read books with Libby?
When you borrow a book on Libby, it’ll give you multiple options on how to read.
Credit: Screenshot: Libby
You have a couple of options on how to read your e-books, whether that’s in the Libby app on a smartphone or tablet, in a browser through the Libby website, or on a supported e-reader.
The best part about using the Libby app or website is that it syncs your progress across all devices. That way, if you leave your iPad at home, you can read on your iPhone and pick up right where you left off. Within the app or on an e-reader, you can adjust the font size, book layout, and background color for a truly customizable reading experience.
Libby also allows you to read its books as ePUB files. The best way to do so is by using Adobe Digital Editions, so if you have a device with Adobe access but not Libby access, like Boox e-readers, you can still access your borrowed books.
To read on an e-reader, you can either have it automatically sync to a Kobo or send it to your Kindle device. However, the Kindle and Libby integration is only available with U.S. libraries and Amazon accounts.
Kobo has the smoothest Libby integration. You can log in via Overdrive (Libby’s parent company) on your device, and when you borrow books, they’ll auto-populate in your library.
For Kindle users, there are a couple of extra steps in the process.
How to read Libby books on Kindle
To read Libby books with Kindle, you’ll have to manually send it to your Kindle library.
Credit: Screenshot: Amazon
Once you send your Libby loan to the Kindle, it will automatically populate to your library. However, you still need to download it to your device.
Credit: Screenshot: Kindle
To read Libby books on a Kindle, select the “Read With Kindle” option within the Libby app, which lets you send borrowed e-books to your Kindle (only in the U.S.). That’ll take you to Amazon, where you’ll click the “Get Library Book” button. From there, the book will automatically appear in the library of your Kindle app and devices. Just remember, once the book is in your library, you’ll need to download it on your Kindle to start reading.
What’s the best e-reader for Libby?
The Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Colour are easily the best e-readers for Libby.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable
The best e-readers for Libby are either the Kobo Libra Colour or the Kindle Paperwhite. Which one you go for depends on how you use Libby. If you just have one library card, the Kobo is the best e-reader for Libby. All of your borrowed Libby books automatically populate on the device without needing to press any extra buttons. The downside is that you can only have one Libby account attached to your Kobo at a time.
If you have multiple library cards, the Kindle Paperwhite is the best e-reader for Libby. While it requires one extra step to get your books on the device, you can borrow with multiple cards simultaneously.
If you don’t want to buy an e-reader, you can get started with Libby immediately by reading on a smartphone or tablet that you already own. If you’re going to read on a tablet, I recommend the iPad mini, which is smaller than other models, preventing wrist strain while holding the device. The screen of an iPad is sometimes too glossy for reading, and if that hurts your eyes, you can add a paper-like screen cover.
Avoid the Barnes & Noble Nook and Boox e-readers for reading with Libby, as both require tedious steps to get your library books on the devices.
If you’re primarily using Libby for audiobooks, you don’t need an e-reader. The Libby app on your phone also works well for audio, letting you download for offline reading or stream if you need to save space on your device. Its built-in player lets you control playback speed, which ranges from 0.6x to 3.0x. Listening in the car? It will play via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, too.
Downsides to Libby
There aren’t many downsides to Libby — I’d argue there technically are none. But as a word of warning, I think it’s important to view Libby as the library that it is and not as an e-book store. With an e-book store, you can buy nearly any title you want, but with a library, sometimes books aren’t available.
This can sometimes be because libraries have limited copies, so you have to wait weeks or even months for a book to become available to borrow. The change to the Libby hold system will hopefully cut back on long wait times. And if you’re stuck waiting on e-book waitlists in Libby, explore your library’s vast collection of digital magazines, which have unlimited simultaneous use.
Sometimes your library just won’t have a book in its collection at all. The best way to avoid this issue is to get multiple library cards since different networks have varying catalogs.
