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V24 2021 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 24, Number 8, February 21, 2021, Article 36

READERS LOVE THE LIBBY APP

While local libraries may not have a decent selection of numismatic literature, they do hold a wealth of research and reading material. A popular app makes those resources easier to access on mobile devices. But is it too much of a good thing for the libraries? -Editor

Libby screen
On the surface, there couldn't be a more wholesome story than the meteoric rise of the Libby app. A user-friendly reading app becomes popular during the pandemic, making books cool again for young readers, multiplying e-book circulation and saving public libraries from sudden obsolescence.

But the Libby story is also a parable for how the best-intentioned people can build a beloved technological tool and accidentally create a financial crisis for those who need the tech most. Public librarians depend on Libby, but they also worry that its newfound popularity could seriously strain their budgets.

Before 2017, e-books were still pretty niche, and checking out library e-books was torture. In 2016, just over a quarter of Americans had read an e-book within the previous year, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Not many people even knew their libraries offered digital books. Overdrive — the digital marketplace for publishers and libraries, and the creator of Libby — was (and still is) clunky, slow and unintuitive. Overdrive hit just under 200 million checkouts in 2016; in 2020, that number more than doubled, surpassing 430 million.

Few noticed when the cute, friendly virtual library app launched in 2017. Libraries are never very good at selling themselves, and neither is Overdrive. But the app's seamless, user-friendly experience was so exceptional that it spoke for itself. Libby became a cult favorite for book lovers and dedicated librarygoers, and almost every public library in the country, already dependent on Overdrive for their growing digital collections, loved that they could make reading online a little bit easier. It was the public library's best-kept secret.

And then in March 2020, when libraries closed their doors and books sat gathering dust, the Libby app became so much more than a cute reading tool. People turned to digital books and were delighted to discover they were so much simpler than remembered. You could access the web app anywhere on any computer, and everything synced to a phone app as well. You could download library books to Kindle. You never needed a password. You could use more than one library card. Libby downloads increased three times their usual amount beginning in late March. E-book checkout growth and new users on Overdrive both increased more than 50%.

Libby had helped to save libraries.

It had also accelerated a funding crisis. Public library budgets have never been luxe, and book acquisition budgets in particular have always been tight. Though it may seem counterintuitive to readers, e-books cost far more than physical books for libraries, meaning that increased demand for digital editions put libraries in a financial bind.

To read the complete article, see:
Libby is stuck between libraries and publishers in the e-book war (https://www.protocol.com/ebooks-libraries-libby-overdrive-publishers)

Check it out! (pun intended) I gave it a try. It's pretty easy to install and set up. I was able to immediately get a temporary library card for my local branch, but needed to go over there to show them a photo ID to get my permanent card. It's only a few minutes away, so I stopped while out running another errand. Every library is different (so your mileage may vary), but there are quite a number of useful resources available in addition to ebooks, such as Consumer Reports Online, newspaper archives including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Legal Forms, Morningstar stock reports, Westlaw, and more. -Editor

For more information on the Libby app, see:
https://www.overdrive.com/



Wayne Homren, Editor

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The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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