Yonkers Public Library
Yonkers Public Library
Libby downloadable app - image of a head buried in a book with "Libby" written underneath it.

#DigitalTuesday Spotlight: Libby

This is the fourth in a series of posts highlighting some of the valuable (but not always well-known) digital resources you have access to as a YPL cardholder. Click here for the full list of #digitaltuesday posts.

It’s #digitaltuesday! YPL subscribes to dozens of apps, research databases, and digital content libraries for books, movies and comic books that you can access for free with your YPL card. You can find the full list of these resources by visiting the YPL Research page at ypl.org/research. Today’s feature is our biggest, most widely-used digital resource: Libby.

Libby is the mobile app for OverDrive– YPL’s main content library for borrowable library E-books and E-audiobooks. You can download the app onto your iPhone, iPad or Android device – or whatever you’d like to use for reading or listening to books. Your YPL card gets you access to:

  • Over 62,000 E-book titles (over 113.000 book copies in total) – ranging from new bestsellers to graphic novels to YA novels to picture books to timeless classics.
  • Over 13,010 MP3 E-audiobooks (nearly 25,000 copies in total) that you can listen to through the OverDrive app.
  • Over 3,400 magazine issues – ranging from The New Yorker and The Atlantic to Us Weekly and inTouch that you can borrow anytime and flip through like you would a printed issue.

Your YPL card allows you to borrow up to 10 E-books or E-audiobooks at a time through Libby. They can be borrowed 24/7, not just when the library is open. E-books and E-audiobooks are loaned for 14 days at a time. After that time they are automatically removed from the Libby app without ever incurring late fees. If no one else has a “hold” on the title you can renew within three days of the due date. 

Even though they are digital, each copy of an E-book or E-audiobook can only be loaned to one library cardholder at a time. If there are no copies available you can place a hold and join a wait list. Each cardholder can place up to 10 holds at a time. Once it’s your turn to borrow a copy of your hold title you have up to 3 days to download it.

In the coming weeks we’ll look closer at how you can get the most our the Libby app. Until then, get started by downloading the app and borrowing an E-book or E-audiobook. Enjoy!

Quick Start Guide
  1. Download Libby app from the Apple App Store, Google Play, or Microsoft Store onto your mobile device.
  2. Open the Libby app and select “Search for a Library” to add Yonkers Public Library.
  3. Select “Enter Library Account Details” and enter your 14-digit library card number and PIN (if you don’t know it, try the last 4 digits of your phone number).
  4. Browse your library’s collection on the Library App or at westchester.overdrive.com. Tap Borrow to borrow a title.
  5. Borrowed titles appear on your Shelf and download to the app automatically when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, so you can read them when you’re offline.
  6. If a title is unavailable, you can place a hold. You will be notified when the item becomes available.
  7. From your Shelf, you can:
    • Read or listen to your book directly from the Libby app, or tap “Kindle Apps & Devices”
      to send a book to Kindle device or app.
    • Tap “Manage Loan” to see options like Renew and Return.
  8. Select Library at the bottom of the screen to continue browsing for titles.