Aura Multiple Overdrive Libraries on Aura One Bug

[Cootey]

I’ve been using the Libby/KA1 link with two libraries for some time now, but I’ve encountered a bug you should know about.

Short: If you put a hold on the same book on multiple libraries (using Overdrive’s web access), and both come in, this will foul up syncing with Libby across devices. You have to return one of the books in order for Libby to sync books properly again.

Long: Sometimes you’re at the bottom of hundreds of library patrons waiting to get an ebook. I thought I’d increase my chances by putting a hold on an ebook from multiple libraries. Libby won’t allow you to do that, however, but if you log into the Overdrive websites for each library, you can get around Libby and place those holds. When one of the books comes in, I remove the hold from the other library. This has worked fine until tonight.

What hasn’t happened before was both holds coming in. Suddenly, there were two identical loans in Libby. Even though Libby shows all the books I’ve borrowed and goes about it’s business, I noticed that my iPad Kobo app and my KA1 were no longer in sync. They had different books. A book I had returned days ago remained on my KA1, and new books I borrowed showed up on my iPad, but not my KA1. Also, many were missing.

Rebooting and syncing didn’t solve this. Since I remembered Libby won’t let us borrow an ebook from a library if there’s an exhausting hold for the book from another library, I decided to remove the duplicate ebook by returning it. Now everything updates properly.

I probably won’t double borrow moving forward because of this. The books come quickly enough. Ebook readers are very good at returning books when they are done with them, don’t you think?


Sent from my iPhone, proving definitively that I’m all thumbs.

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