Six months of Libby

[Catlady]

Now that it's six months since OverDrive forced the transition to Libby for audiobooks, I'm wondering how (or if) your use of the library has been affected.

For me, it has meant reading fewer books and sticking to familiar authors. I am still holding out against using Libby on my phone--it's just inconvenient and annoying. So I've essentially stopped borrowing audiobooks. No borrowing means buying, and buying means being much more selective.

I hate the change to Libby even more than I thought I would.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Now that it's six months since OverDrive forced the transition to Libby for audiobooks, I'm wondering how (or if) your use of the library has been affected....

I've never used Libby for audiobooks. It seems fine to me for ebooks. I've been using Libby since before Overdrive "forced" me to.

[JSWolf]

One thing I really like about Libby is that I belong to multiple library systems. So sometimes I will put a hold on the same book more then once. When I go to download this book, I get an option to delete all the other holds. Which is very good.

I do use Libby for audiobooks but not all that often. The Libby app is fine for listening.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I hate the change to Libby even more than I thought I would.

This ↑↑↑↑↑↑

I'm borrowing far fewer audiobooks, and when I do borrow, I often use it more as an extended sample. If I like it enough to want to finish, I will often buy it rather than listen to the whole thing on Libby. And if I don't like it enough to buy, I will likely DNF.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

I've never used Libby for audiobooks. It seems fine to me for ebooks. I've been using Libby since before Overdrive "forced" me to.

Yes, forced. You can only listen to a borrowed audiobook in a web browser with a wifi connection, or in the Libby app, whereas previously you could download mp3 files and listen in the app and/or device of your choice. Forced.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Yes, forced. You can only listen to a borrowed audiobook in a web browser with a wifi connection, or in the Libby app, whereas previously you could download mp3 files and listen in the app and/or device of your choice. Forced.

That's the way it is with ebooks. Well, sort of, I guess. I haven't tested to see if I can read the book without connecting once I've begun reading it. I suppose it's the old story of fear of "piracy."

[issybird]

Well, it hasn't hit me yet, but it's about to.

Fall, winter, spring, I listen to Libby books on the app without issue. But summer is different. Every summer, I counted on Libby to populate my waterproof MP3 player. I love to swim but swimming has its tedious aspects, totally obviated when you've got a good audiobook playing. There's always Downpour, I suppose, but that could get pricey. Or, I could finally figure out how to strip DRM from Audible books. The problem there is, I shamefacedly admit, is that my Audible purchases have always tended to be heavy, long and worthy. More bang for the buck, y'know? Whereas, when I'm swimming, I want to listen to if not outright junk, at least books at the lighter side of the spectrum.

Not a happy camper. It infuriates me that Libby was unwilling to acknowledge the "access" issues with their change in policy, nor that it would weigh most heavily on the most disadvantaged.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

Well, it hasn't hit me yet, but it's about to.

Fall, winter, spring, I listen to Libby books on the app without issue. But summer is different. Every summer, I counted on Libby to populate my waterproof MP3 player. I love to swim but swimming has its tedious aspects, totally obviated when you've got a good audiobook playing. There's always Downpour, I suppose, but that could get pricey. Or, I could finally figure out how to strip DRM from Audible books. The problem there is, I shamefacedly admit, is that my Audible purchases have always tended to be heavy, long and worthy. More bang for the buck, y'know? Whereas, when I'm swimming, I want to listen to if not outright junk, at least books at the lighter side of the spectrum.

Not a happy camper. It infuriates me that Libby was unwilling to acknowledge the "access" issues with their change in policy, nor that it would weigh most heavily on the most disadvantaged.

Here is a solution to the problem. It's an Android based waterproof MP3 player that will allow you to install the Libby app.

https://www.underwateraudio.com/prod...e-for-swimming

[issybird]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

That's the way it is with ebooks. Well, sort of, I guess. I haven't tested to see if I can read the book without connecting once I've begun reading it. I suppose it's the old story of fear of "piracy."

The big difference is that Libby, at least for now, still lets you download/sideload ebooks to the eink device of your choice, the only limitation being that you can't opt for both Kindle and epub on the same borrow. You don't need to be online nor read in the app, only.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Here is a solution to the problem. It's an Android based waterproof MP3 player that will allow you to install the Libby app.

https://www.underwateraudio.com/prod...e-for-swimming

Thanks. I've been aware of Delphin, but it's three hundred freaking dollars! At some point, you have to look at the cost of a device that will get you access to "free" material, which turns out to be not so free after all once you start amortizing the cost of the device. I appreciate the input, but honestly if I had $300 of device money lying around, I'd start to think about an updated ereader as my priority. And my waterproof MP3 player's only a year old; my much loved and lamented Aerb bit the dust last summer after ten years of service.

I wish the quality of Librivox wasn't so spotty. I don't want to listen to an unadulterated diet of Victorian novels while I'm swimming, but I wouldn't mind slotting in the occasional one. I think Librivox is unfortunately like KU; a lot of work to find the occasional gem.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by issybird

I wish the quality of Librivox wasn't so spotty. I don't want to listen to an unadulterated diet of Victorian novels while I'm swimming, but I wouldn't mind slotting in the occasional one. I think Librivox is unfortunately like KU; a lot of work to find the occasional gem.

It looks like Librivox books are in the public domain. I wanted to see if I could upload my audiobooks, but they're creative commons. Do you know of any places similar to Librivox that have CC books?

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

Or, I could finally figure out how to strip DRM from Audible books.

You've mentioned this before, and it amazes me. There's nothing to it. I use aaxtomp3. It was the first one I tried for Audible, and though I've sampled others that have been recommended, I keep going back to aaxtomp3.

The version in the link above is probably an update to the old version I'm using. What I have is aaxtomp3_CS, and the zip file for that can be downloaded here.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Here is a solution to the problem. It's an Android based waterproof MP3 player that will allow you to install the Libby app.

https://www.underwateraudio.com/prod...e-for-swimming

It's not just about an activity like swimming, though. I think it's a reasonable assumption that people who listen to audiobooks are also doing something else concurrently, whether it's commuting or running errands or exercising or cleaning the bathroom. And that means ease of use and portability matter a lot more than they do to someone sitting in a chair reading an ebook. If I'm home in leggings and a T-shirt, I don't have a pocket for my phone, nor do I want to take a chance of dropping said phone in a bucket of soapy water. It's a heck of a lot more expensive than my little mp3 player. Which means a lot of dead time that I used to fill with listening to library books that Libby has made inaccessible.