Library borrowing: Overdrive vs. Libby

haertig · 11-04-2022, 06:05 PM

Mods: Please move this to the correct subforum if I have started this thread in the wrong place.

I saw something about Overdrive going away in early 2023, to be replaced by Libby. I am looking for some answers, or a reference for where to look, about the differences.

I currently use Overdrive for library loans. Not an app ... I just go to the https://overdrive.com website from my desktop computer. I have my specific local libraries defined in settings, so when I do a search for a book it displays which of my local libraries has that book. I click on one of the displayed libraries, and I am sent to that individual library's Overdrive site. e.g., https://denver.overdrive.com for the Denver, Colorado library.

From the individual library's Overdrive website, I can check out the book. I then download it as either an ASCM file, or I get sent to Amazon to download it as an AZW3 file. I then either "fulfill" the ASCM file to get an EPUB, or "Download from transfer" from Amazon to get an AZW3 file. The file is then sideloaded onto my Kindle with help from Calibre.

As I understand it, Libby is a reading app. But I don't want to read library books on my phone. I want them on my Kindle.

My questions:

(1) Does Libby provide a general website interface like overdrive.com where I can search out books from a desktop computer web browser like I've been doing for years?

(2) If not, how do you search, check-out, and get an AZW3 file sideloaded onto your Kindle? Can you still sideload? I keep my Kindle in airplane mode and do not want to open that up for an internet connection to directly download a book, or use "send to Kindle" for the book.

(3) Are they killing the above functionality moving from Overdrive to Libby? Do you now have to do all the book management via an app on your phone? Will you still be able to read library books on your Kindle, or do you have to use the Libby app on a phone (or tablet) to do your library reading now?

Thanks in advance for any help or tutorial-type instructions (or link) on how to do what I'm wanting to do using Libby instead of Overdrive.

John F · 11-04-2022, 06:37 PM

I believe the library overdrive websites will still be available. From the overdrive site:

Quote:

Can users still use our library’s OverDrive website?
Yes. Users can still browse, borrow, and enjoy titles from your library’s OverDrive website.

Note: OverDrive website users will also see Libby promotions throughout the site.

And

Quote:

Can users continue to transfer books to a dedicated ereader like a NOOK or Kobo?
Yes. If a user has a NOOK or a similar dedicated ereader, they can download books to a computer then use Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) to transfer them to their device. This option is available from libbyapp.com or your library’s OverDrive website. Learn more about transferring ebooks on Libby Help.

Additionally, many Kobo devices are compatible with direct borrowing of OverDrive ebooks (e.g.,Kobo Sage, Libra 2, Clara HD, Elipsa, Forma, Libra H2O, Nia, Aura Edition 2, Aura H2O Edition 2, or Aura ONE). This functionality will continue to work as expected.

JSWolf · 11-04-2022, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haertig

I saw something about Overdrive going away in early 2023, to be replaced by Libby. I am looking for some answers, or a reference for where to look, about the differences.

You have this incorrect. Overdrive is not going away in 2023.

What is going away in early 2023 is the Overdrive app.

https://company.overdrive.com/2022/0...ll-in-on-libby

Quote:

Beginning in late July, OverDrive app users will be prompted to switch to Libby. We’re excited to take the next step with Libby and make it the primary way to enjoy your digital library, with a goal of fully discontinuing the OverDrive app in early 2023.

haertig · 11-04-2022, 07:13 PM

Oh. OK. This is good news from my viewpoint.

I have used the Overdrive app sometime in the past. Seldom. Not for eBooks. It was to download an audiobook library loan. I assume the Libby app will provide this function going forward, should I ever borrow another audiobook from the library.

Thanks John and Jon!

rcentros · 11-05-2022, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haertig

Oh. OK. This is good news from my viewpoint.

I have used the Overdrive app sometime in the past. Seldom. Not for eBooks. It was to download an audiobook library loan. I assume the Libby app will provide this function going forward, should I ever borrow another audiobook from the library.

I usually just download the library book via a web browser on the computer and then I can send the acsm file to the Tolino or PocketBook via USB -- and let them download the actual book (ADE built-in on these devices). On the PocketBook I can use "Send to PocketBook" if I want to do it wirelessly, or download directly from the PocketBook or Tolino using their built-in web browsers (which is requires patience when dealing with a web browser on an eInk device).

Like you, I hope none of this changes. I've never downloaded the Libby App, but Overdrive always bugs me about it when I log into my library. (I can't remember if I ever downloaded the Overdrive app. I know I don't use it.)

Joykins · 11-07-2022, 11:24 PM

I heard the OverDrive App was going away and downloaded Libby to see what it was. It took a little getting used to, maybe an hour or 2, and then it was fine. It does all the stuff the OverDrive App does, but using some different methods. If you have to checkout a book (or lose your hold while traveling for example) without a computer, Libby will do.

I think you can use Libby to read the book (my mom does this on her iPad) but you don't have to. If you check out kindle books, it works a lot like OverDrive. And like others say, the website will still be around.

issybird · 12-06-2022, 08:32 AM

For the past couple of days, every time I’ve launched the web page for one of my OverDrive libraries, I’ve had to sign in and twice at that. And if I spend too much time there, I’ll have to go through the process again. This is both on my laptop and tablet. I know it’s a stretch, but I wonder if it’s related to the planned EOL of the OD app? In any case, it’s irritating.

I’m dreading the end of the OD app, which is just fine for my use of it.

Quoth · 12-06-2022, 09:07 AM

Could be a browser update that has affected cookie life. Or a server side change. One web site I used never asked me to login again and now frequently does and one occasion there was an automated message accusing me of deleting cookies.
This site only occasionally asks me to log in again.

So could be many reasons nothing to do with EOL, or you could be 100% correct.

Catlady · 12-06-2022, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

For the past couple of days, every time I’ve launched the web page for one of my OverDrive libraries, I’ve had to sign in and twice at that. And if I spend too much time there, I’ll have to go through the process again. This is both on my laptop and tablet. I know it’s a stretch, but I wonder if it’s related to the planned EOL of the OD app? In any case, it’s irritating.

I’m dreading the end of the OD app, which is just fine for my use of it.

I was just about to post that I keep being logged out of my libraries. Just now I had a "session expired" notice while looking at new titles--I couldn't have been on for more than 10 minutes, actively browsing and clicking. At first I thought it might have something to do with my new computer, but the app changeover is a more likely explanation.

odamizu · 12-06-2022, 01:01 PM

Oh, geez. I thought it was just me. Hope this is just a temporary glitch and not the beginning of the end of the Overdrive web interface that we know and love.

ownedbycats · 12-06-2022, 01:26 PM

Yup, I got logged out of all my libraries.

Using inspect element to check the cookies shows that one called _cac (which contains the user's email address and what seems to be account information like "checkoutLimitsByMedia" and "canPlaceHolds") expires 10 minutes after login.

issybird · 12-06-2022, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odamizu

Oh, geez. I thought it was just me. Hope this is just a temporary glitch and not the beginning of the end of the Overdrive web interface that we know and love.

Yep. OverDrive would be much much less useful to me if I couldn’t use a browser to look for and check out books and if I couldn’t download and sideload media. Could they be aiming for an all-app experience? Or minimally, something more like Hoopla?

Perhaps they assume that the overwhelming majority of users use a phone or tablet to access media and those of us with eink readers and MP3 players are Luddites who can be left behind?

ownedbycats · 12-06-2022, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Yep. OverDrive would be much much less useful to me if I couldn’t use a browser to look for and check out books and if I couldn’t download and sideload media. Could they be aiming for an all-app experience?

plz don't give them the idea

JSWolf · 12-06-2022, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

For the past couple of days, every time I’ve launched the web page for one of my OverDrive libraries, I’ve had to sign in and twice at that. And if I spend too much time there, I’ll have to go through the process again. This is both on my laptop and tablet. I know it’s a stretch, but I wonder if it’s related to the planned EOL of the OD app? In any case, it’s irritating.

I’m dreading the end of the OD app, which is just fine for my use of it.

Overdrive did this same exact thing with the main Overdrive site. They changed the length of time cookies expired. Seems now they've done the same thing to the library sites.

haertig · 12-06-2022, 02:50 PM

I have been getting logged out of the main Overdrive site frequently - for the last couple of months! I'll be right in the middle of doing something, having been active for the whole time, and boom - I'm logged out. This is not an inactivity timer. I get logged out mid-keystroke. Any given login seems to persist for maybe 15 minutes or so (I have not timed it). I receive no notification of the pending or completed logout. I just notice it when I click on a book and see that my local libraries are no longer in force (because I am logged out).

This is on the MAIN Overdrive website https://overdrive.com, not from an individual library website.
From my computer web browser (not an app on my phone). I never stay on individual library Overdrive websites long enough to encounter an automated logout.

This has been going on for many months, getting close to a year now. It didn't used to be this way, once logged in I used to stayed logged in. But not any more.

OS: Linux. Web browser: Chromium

11-04-2022, 06:05 PM	#1
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	Library borrowing: Overdrive vs. Libby Mods: Please move this to the correct subforum if I have started this thread in the wrong place. I saw something about Overdrive going away in early 2023, to be replaced by Libby. I am looking for some answers, or a reference for where to look, about the differences. I currently use Overdrive for library loans. Not an app ... I just go to the https://overdrive.com website from my desktop computer. I have my specific local libraries defined in settings, so when I do a search for a book it displays which of my local libraries has that book. I click on one of the displayed libraries, and I am sent to that individual library's Overdrive site. e.g., https://denver.overdrive.com for the Denver, Colorado library. From the individual library's Overdrive website, I can check out the book. I then download it as either an ASCM file, or I get sent to Amazon to download it as an AZW3 file. I then either "fulfill" the ASCM file to get an EPUB, or "Download from transfer" from Amazon to get an AZW3 file. The file is then sideloaded onto my Kindle with help from Calibre. As I understand it, Libby is a reading app. But I don't want to read library books on my phone. I want them on my Kindle. My questions: (1) Does Libby provide a general website interface like overdrive.com where I can search out books from a desktop computer web browser like I've been doing for years? (2) If not, how do you search, check-out, and get an AZW3 file sideloaded onto your Kindle? Can you still sideload? I keep my Kindle in airplane mode and do not want to open that up for an internet connection to directly download a book, or use "send to Kindle" for the book. (3) Are they killing the above functionality moving from Overdrive to Libby? Do you now have to do all the book management via an app on your phone? Will you still be able to read library books on your Kindle, or do you have to use the Libby app on a phone (or tablet) to do your library reading now? Thanks in advance for any help or tutorial-type instructions (or link) on how to do what I'm wanting to do using Libby instead of Overdrive.

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11-04-2022, 07:13 PM	#4
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	Oh. OK. This is good news from my viewpoint. I have used the Overdrive app sometime in the past. Seldom. Not for eBooks. It was to download an audiobook library loan. I assume the Libby app will provide this function going forward, should I ever borrow another audiobook from the library. Thanks John and Jon!

11-07-2022, 11:24 PM	#6
Joykins Wizard Posts: 1,601 Karma: 9211856 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: kindle Oasis 2018, kindle 4 NT, kindle PW2, iPhone, iPad mini	I heard the OverDrive App was going away and downloaded Libby to see what it was. It took a little getting used to, maybe an hour or 2, and then it was fine. It does all the stuff the OverDrive App does, but using some different methods. If you have to checkout a book (or lose your hold while traveling for example) without a computer, Libby will do. I think you can use Libby to read the book (my mom does this on her iPad) but you don't have to. If you check out kindle books, it works a lot like OverDrive. And like others say, the website will still be around.

12-06-2022, 08:32 AM	#7
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,234 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	For the past couple of days, every time I’ve launched the web page for one of my OverDrive libraries, I’ve had to sign in and twice at that. And if I spend too much time there, I’ll have to go through the process again. This is both on my laptop and tablet. I know it’s a stretch, but I wonder if it’s related to the planned EOL of the OD app? In any case, it’s irritating. I’m dreading the end of the OD app, which is just fine for my use of it.

12-06-2022, 09:07 AM	#8
Quoth the rook, bossing Never. Posts: 11,169 Karma: 85874891 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper11	Could be a browser update that has affected cookie life. Or a server side change. One web site I used never asked me to login again and now frequently does and one occasion there was an automated message accusing me of deleting cookies. This site only occasionally asks me to log in again. So could be many reasons nothing to do with EOL, or you could be 100% correct.

12-06-2022, 01:01 PM	#10
odamizu just an egg Posts: 1,587 Karma: 4300000 Join Date: Mar 2015 Device: Kindle, iOS	Oh, geez. I thought it was just me. Hope this is just a temporary glitch and not the beginning of the end of the Overdrive web interface that we know and love.

12-06-2022, 01:26 PM	#11
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 8,644 Karma: 61234567 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	Yup, I got logged out of all my libraries. Using inspect element to check the cookies shows that one called _cac (which contains the user's email address and what seems to be account information like "checkoutLimitsByMedia" and "canPlaceHolds") expires 10 minutes after login.

12-06-2022, 02:50 PM	#15
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	I have been getting logged out of the main Overdrive site frequently - for the last couple of months! I'll be right in the middle of doing something, having been active for the whole time, and boom - I'm logged out. This is not an inactivity timer. I get logged out mid-keystroke. Any given login seems to persist for maybe 15 minutes or so (I have not timed it). I receive no notification of the pending or completed logout. I just notice it when I click on a book and see that my local libraries are no longer in force (because I am logged out). This is on the MAIN Overdrive website https://overdrive.com, not from an individual library website. From my computer web browser (not an app on my phone). I never stay on individual library Overdrive websites long enough to encounter an automated logout. This has been going on for many months, getting close to a year now. It didn't used to be this way, once logged in I used to stayed logged in. But not any more. OS: Linux. Web browser: Chromium

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