libbyapp.com Reviews 122

Downloaded last week and was able to get the magazine I wanted no problem. This week however the new issue is not available and looking through other titles nothing available.

Libby is again having problems supplying emagazines via my local library.

Such a poor app even when it works.

It is not dependable. It frequently freezes and for no apparent reason. It stops functioning for random periods of time

Your data is not backed up! When I reinstalled the app, a year of bookmarked (tagged) books, holds, etc. was wiped clean. It's been a known issue for ages, their support team knows it, The working around is to set up Libby on another device, but they don't remind you of that. They remind you of a whole bunch of other stuff, like notifications or opening books in Kindle, but they don't remind you that YOU WILL LOSE YOUR DATA.

Others have complained about what else is wrong with this thing, so I'll harp on the navigation: it doesn't make sense. Libby has the single worst navigation scheme of any app I've ever used, and it's not particularly close.

On Android, there are 5 unnamed icons at the bottom. Only one has an obvious, intuitive function: the magnifying glass is for search. The others? Who knows. You have to click all of them to try to find the thing that you want.

The default tab is just a list of books you've checked out. Meaning that when you open the app to try to resume a book or audiobook (the typical use case), you need to click through to a different screen, which always takes a bizarrely long time to load.

The middle tab? It's where you manage notifications and add a library card. They dedicated the central tab to something you'll use once a year at most. But I have to click through multiple sections to resume my audiobook.

There's a discovery page, which shows a totally chaotic assemblage of things that can be checked out from the library. The default view is useless, so you'll want to use the filters at the top of the screen to find something in the genre you want. But applying filters doesn't take you to a filtered view of the discovery page (i.e., the way filters work on every other app in the world). Instead it opens up a new screen. Why?

Another tab is something called "timeline." I guess it's vaguely interesting to see what I've read, but why on earth would that get its own dedicated section in the main navigation menu?

Meanwhile, I had to compile a wishlist using a feature called "tags" because the app doesn't feature a wishlist or save function. Navigating that tag list is a nightmare, because I'm never sure what's going to open when I click on any element of it. Will it be the main page for the book in question? Or some weird subscreen that doesn't let me check out the book or take any useful actions at all?

The worst is the abuse of Android's OS-level back functionality, which is completely broken in the app. In Libby, back doesn't mean back. Back seems to me "take me to a completely random screen." It's been broken for years.

I'll keep using the app because there's no alternative, but we should all be enraged that the Libby designers, product managers and engineers decided to ignore all sensible, established navigational paradigms when building the app, ensuring that hundreds of thousands (or millions) of people waste time every day trying to figure out how to accomplish the few simple actions actually on offer.

Libby library app is awful. Supposed to be able to download library books to my Kobo e-reader. Doesn’t sync with the app on my tablet so even if I’m able to download a book to the reader there’s no point in trying to pick the book up on my phone as I have to try and search through the book to get to the place I got up to. Other issues make this app not worth using as it’s so frustrating 😩

Most nonintuitive app I have ever used, and it doesn't get easier over time. They have actually made it worse than when I first used it. Hire someone who knows what they're doing.

I love reading on libby but its really frustrating to wait ages for a book after reading the sample, at the time the book come available its the end of my vacation.

Libby is so messy and confusing, I just can’t get my head around it. Apparently I can read newspapers through it, I tried and was defeated by the maze I had to go through. BorrowBox is way better.

libby’s a complete mess compared with overdrive, which was simple and intuitive. i despair.

Libby is too big and too complicated. I miss the old one, it was simple and did the job. Libby made me feel as if I was going down a lot of rabbit holes. I kept getting lost and couldn't find my way to what I wanted.

Can you please improve the forward and rewind? It is very user unfriendly. Thank you

Really frustrated with the libby app not syncing to kobo Ereader. It's all very well that it SHOULD be momentarily linked as simply as doing the steps says it is but it JUST ISN'T SYNCING

Not the best application for reading. Slow, not user friendly, horrible for context translate and doesn't give an opportunity to store highlights. I used to enjoy Overdrive but unfortunately, it's been discontinued. What a shame. Libby isn't even close to what Overdrive featured...

I just do not understand what I am now meant to do with this app. I have been borrowing and returning magazines. Very happily via my local library for the last few years via this apps predecessor and this app. Now I seem to be stuck with magazines I cannot return after reading and no new magazines being offered. What are you trying to do!!??

Some weeks ago I noticed a profound change in the Libby app. It is absolutely not user-friendly and really pointless. Before, it was easy to choose, download read and return to library with simple clicks. Now it is complicated, does not do what it is supposed to do, I can't get to return to the library when I want and have lots of rubbish on my screen that I don't need. WHY? It was a brilliant app.

How to imagine a worse audio app? Typical: I set a bookmark before nodding off to sleep. I wake some hours later, the book has gone on w/o me, as it were. I tap on the bookmark to return to my starting point. The wheel turns and turns and turns. The book does not return to the bookmark. If I go to "chapters" and tap the previous chapter, the wheel turns and turns and turns. It is beyond frustrating. At this point I give up and go to my audible account. Please reinstate overdrive. Always always reliable. I would appreciate feedback. Thanks! Victoria deMara

The app works great for me. I'm new to online libraries, so it takes me a good two days to understand the interface. After I get how it works, I like it. I put 4 library cards in it and the app suggests which library has the shortest waiting time. But waiting time can be so long, especially for new and popular books.

I used to download an audiobook to my little clip-on mp3 player and listen while doing yard work or housework. I am 76 YO and vision impaired. Now I have to download onto my phone which absolutely will not play the book 3/4ths of the time. Even people at the library can't figure out how to make it play. Plus Libby runs down the phone battery which is not replaceable and phones are expensive. I manage a book club and am often unable to get a book to play by the time of the meeting. Also, book club members need to get a estimate of when a book on hold will be available so they have it in time for the meeting. But the new system doesn't give you this information. And the search function is useless. The books are listed, but with little info. You can't tell if the book is in English, how long it is, if it's a play or the actual book, etc. I will no longer vote for funds for the public library. If I have to subscribe to an audiobook service, why should I pay more taxes to support the library if it's not useable. Apparently the switch to Libby is an effort to get people to read less. Bring back Overdrive!!

You can improve this company by getting rid of it for the library.