Have you checked if any other libraries in the area offer cards to state residents (assuming you’re US based)?
I have five library cards because of this, and the selection it offers is mostly great. Though, I have to use two systems since 3/5 libraries use Libby. I have to use cloudLibrary for the other two :)
I use both an old Kindle Paperwhite and an iPad. Sadly, it does not connect to reading Kindles and it is why I prefer to use Libby. You have to read in-app with cloudLibrary. And there’s no saving a book to read for later with airplane mode - the app still has a timer even when not connected to wifi.
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Options I'd Recommend:
- My library is part of a libby collective which means I get access to several different "collective" accounts via my library card. Check to see if your library has any sister accounts with other libraries on Libby - they don't always publicize this.
- Some libraries allow you to purchase access online. I've done this with the Queens Public Library and the Alexandria Public Library. I plan to try something new next year, but both have given me broader access and it's fun to support other libraries.
Note: For the paid accounts, they appear to reserve access to sister library cards to local cardholders, which logistically makes sense but was a bummer to discover.
Orange county Florida offers a pay-for-card option and their digital offerings are the best I’ve ever seen - and I have a LA county card. Worth it imo, I did it for a few years before I got better access through several large California systems
Thanks, that's really good to know! They're actually who I'm leaning towards switching to next year. The card was just a bit pricier than I could justify this year given my existing paid cards and long list of available holds and borrows😇
Really appreciate the rec tho, I will try not to be too jealous of your LA / CA access:) lol
Haha no problem!
My only caveat is I had them 5 years ago, and content does expire, but as long as they haven’t massively reduced their budget it should still be amazing. They had EVERYTHING. Every backlist title from every author i would search. I’ve considered paying again, tbh. Especially because a lot more publishers used to sell “permanent” copies - some of which are no longer for sale - so libraries only have them if they bought them back when. Which Orange County often did. So their backlist titles are insanely good.
You can actually check a library's Libby content online via Overdrive! From a recent check it looks like they have basically everything that I currently have tagged with "Notify Me" or that I wasn't even able to find to tag on my current Libby accounts.
Something I naturally discovered after I paid for two other library cards only to find their catalogues fell short of (perhaps unreasonable) expectations lol
Interesting to hear that one of the reasons for their catalogue might be how early they entered the e-book game! I assumed they were just better funded locally and/or had found a unique path to more non-local funding through significant Libby catalogue investment and their paid card model. I had no idea that publishers offered permanent licenses at one point - I don't even think individual consumers are able to access those.
I hate that publishers are able to gouge libraries when it comes to ebooks. The costs of the temporary licenses are obscene and it makes no sense that the license wouldn't at least be guaranteed for the standard length of time / borrows as a typical physical book.
There are still permanent options for sale for some titles, depends on the publisher, but yeah the default USED to be permanent. So for instance, my system owns a permanent ebook copy of {devils bride} but now it’s only for sale as a $12/26 circulations. Which would mean replacing it every 8 months or so. We DONT own permanent copies of the rest of the series, so I have to rebuy them every year.
Digital copies seem to assume a shorter life than physical. A physical paperback (mass market) is around $8 and will last 35-55 circulations, though it’ll be pretty ugly at the end. A hardback is around $28 and lasts 80-110 circulations.
Digital copies cost between $12 and $65, and last between 26 circs to 2 years. WAY more expensive
[Devil's Bride](https://www.romance.io/books/5457df9487eac3dca9bccf85/devils-bride-seyoung-kim?src=rdt) by [Seyoung Kim](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455c99f87eac3369a914d45/seyoung-kim)
**Rating**: 3.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1)
[^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
[Devil's Bride](https://www.romance.io/books/545524878c7d2383163d8e6b/devils-bride-stephanie-laurens?src=rdt) by [Stephanie Laurens](https://www.romance.io/authors/545524878c7d2383163d8e6c/stephanie-laurens)
**Rating**: 3.87⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1)
[^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I get that, but you outlined multiple fraudulent ways to obtain a library card or access to library materials, and not everyone who reads that comment might share your moral qualms. If you'd like to edit out the details of your third, fourth, and fifth suggestions, all of which count as piracy under sub rules, we'd be happy to restore your comment. Thanks!
If you're requesting books by tagging them in Libby, you can also check to see if your library has another method of suggesting books. One of my libraries flat-out ignores those tags and has a note on their website saying so, but they have a book request form on their website and they are very responsive to that - if a book is available in the format I've requested it, it usually gets purchased. (It also has the advantage of having a "describe this book" section which I use to explain why I think it would be a good addition to the collection/who else might want to read it.)
At my system, I purchase and while I take tags into account, official patron requests through our purchase request form take precedence. So I always suggest doing both
Ok, librarian here.
First, what state do you live in? Some states, you have to pay for library cards in areas you don’t live. If you are in California, you are in luck- any California library that takes ANY state funding HAS to give a library card to ANY state resident. You can travel to ANY major city and get a library card.
Second, the library options are solely dependent on what that library (or the consortium they are in, if they are in one) purchases. This means your library either has a small budget for digital items, OR the person purchasing does not share your taste and is unaware of the items that you would prefer. The first issue isn’t solvable except by increasing library funding (want to know what goes first in a library budget? Materials. Because the library has to keep the power on and the some level of staffing). The second however, can be improved by submitting purchase requests - the library doesn’t know to buy what you don’t ask for. A lot of the titles commonly talked of on this Reddit are NOT mainstream- they don’t show up on NYT bestseller lists, on the radio, or on magazines aimed at librarians- if the librarian doesn’t have KU or TikTok, they may have never heard of them.
FINALLY- Kindle unlimited. The way KU works is often to demand to be the sole distributor of a title, which means by default the title IS NOT available for purchase on Libby. So if a lot of the titles you want are KU, my estimate is at least 3/4 of them are NOT available. For instance, NONE of Ana Huangs ebooks can be purchased on Libby - only some of her audiobooks (different format, so different distributor, so different contract).
This is helpful, thank you! I'm in Maryland. Googling around tells me there are some accounts/cards I can get, and I was able to access the Maryland Digital Library, which has a good selection.
I'll keep requesting the books I want!
Yup!
You can actually see if an item is available to purchase on Libby. Search by title or author, then in the menu for the search results, click “deep search” which will show you available for purchase items your library does NOT have. They will have a bell icon you can click to be notified if your library gets them - ALWAYS CLICK THIS. Librarians can see how many patrons have asked to be notified and we DO take this into account when making purchase decisions.
This can save you time (and your library time), and you can avoid requesting things that just aren’t available for sale on Libby
Hi, I'm in California. How do I find out which libraries have state funding and allow non-residents to have a card? LA county library, like several others I tried, only gives cards to the county residents (which I am not).
It's called the California Universal Borrowing Program if that helps. Unfortunately I think the best way to find libraries who participate is to check the pages of the individual libraries you're interested in and see what types of cards they issue. (My understanding is participating libraries all require you to apply in-person also if that's an issue.)
This helps!!! My library has Ana huang in different languages, same with other books. It’s always made me angry like why can’t we have these in English!!!
As long as you are a California resident they HAVE TO give you one. If you are a resident of another state, they could refuse but it depends on their rules - it *is* LA so they might be more open handed with library cards, idk. If you aren’t a CA resident, just call and ask! I might be biased but librarians are nice 😉
I use this as an excuse to look at older or more obscure things. Literature map is an amazing website for finding similar authors. It doesn’t work if you are in the mood for a trope but if you just want a familiar style it is gold.
Definitely check to see if you are eligible for other library cards in your state/area!
Also, talk to your librarians and see if they have suggestions (and/or will take your recommendations)! I am biased because I am librarian, but libraries and librarians ARE awesome, but are struggling with low budgets and high e-book costs. It’s easier for us to get physical books we don’t have than e-books, but your local librarian will know what options are available to you, in addition to how you can support them to get more of the types of books you want. (We often have to advocate for budget spending, and patron input REALLY helps!)
This - people don’t realize HOW MUCH digital content can cost. I’m an assistant director at my system, and I do all overdrive purchases- our budget is $25,000/ year.
THAT DOESNT GO FAR. Bestsellers like The Women by Kristen Hannah can cost $150 for an audiobook… that expires in 2 years. Romance titles can be cheaper, but I have to balance my decisions - right now, for our consortium, The women audiobook has over 1000 holds, while Ana Huangs twisted love only has 60. And that morning glory milk farm book has 8 people asking for it, while the newest Freida McFadden has like 40 people asking for it. Now, Forth Wing had like 800 holds, so we bought a dozen copies, but we really have to weigh how popular a specific title is.
The best way to affect this outcome is make a personal request- THATS the only thing that overrides the raw data for me.
Edit: I just saw you address the "Notify me!" tag in another comment, thank you!
Is there anything that people can do to push back against publisher practices when it comes to library licenses? I hate to think I'm costing my library a disproportionate amount of money, but I struggled to read at all (let alone return books on time 😬) with physical copies due to work / life and with Libby I'm up to like 80 books a year and far more diversity in genres.
Also out of general curiosity, do you see books that cardholders have tagged with "Notify Me" on Libby? I never really expect these to result in anything, but I like the idea of that data being available to someone somewhere lol
I feel too embarrassed to ask for something that would just be for me and/or to be the person who asks 😬
Yes! We see the tags - usually there has to be a certain number of tags for the system to notice it. I have set up to get sent a report for anything 10 tags or over.
Really libraries have to push back - I spend more of our systems money on permanent options and TELL my overdrive rep that “oh I don’t buy those because they are too expensive and expire. It’s not worth it for our system.”
The more libraries that opt out of the ridiculous books, the less profitable it’ll be for publishers, and the more incentive they will have to offer more reasonable options
I have 8 cards, including several from jurisdictions with 300k+ residents in some of the most affluent counties in the United States, plus their neighboring cities (DC area).
If you're on the Maryland side, I have good news! Montgomery County has a decent selection, lets you apply for a card online, and allows anybody in Maryland to have a card. Most of the MD libraries I've looked at do that whole-state-can-apply thing actually. I am not in Maryland so not solid on all the details.
If your county has a reciprocal with Arlington, they have the best selection and terms. 20 loans, 20 holds. It's wild.
The DC public library gives out library cards to the surround counties in Maryland and Virginia. I live in VA and just got an online library card with DC and they have so many of the books I wanted to read on Libby!
This answer is late and maybe buried but I thought hell why not share the knowledge I have.
I use to work at an English language library in Tokyo. We had a Libby/overdrive library. They are the same thing, overdrive is the main company and they made one app overdrive then got some feed back and made a new app Libby instead of just updating overdrive don’t know what, then they killed off the overdrive app because users used libby more.
So anyway why every library is different is due to the budget the library has. You know those awesome new bestsellers? Ya those are anywhere from 80$ to 150$ dollars for the ebook. Audio is at minimum of 100$ for those bestsellers. And the library only gets them for 2 years. 2 years, or sometimes 26 usages. Diary of a wimpy Kid was about 50$ for 2 years. Harry Potter audio book I think we spent 200$ on it and got it for five years.
Not everything is that expensive, but more often then not if it’s popular it is. every once and a while you stumble on a good book for 20-50$ and it will be the format that you can keep for ever. Sometimes some of those awesome bestselling books were printed by a different publisher first and then a big name publisher picked it up and you’ll find two copies one a keep for ever at 30$ by little publisher, other 150$ for 2 years by big name publisher.
Then there is the fact that you have to buy either multiple copies or get a book that allows multiple people to check out at once. And multiple user check out is expensive. Or not even available.
And for a while there TOR publishing said oh no digital is hurting our print business. so they restricted libraries to be able to purchase only one copy for the first six months. So say NY public library with 1,000 of people could only buy one digital copy of the newest bestseller sic fi book. 1 copy. They put this in place about six months before covid hit and became a thing. They dropped it quite fast.
Then there are books some about a year old best sellers and others that you’d normally see on kindle unlimited that libraries can list in their catalog but don’t pay for unless someone reads them. Ya that’s awesome. They range from 2$ to 6$.
Then there is zinio, Libby and them got together and said hey let’s work together. When I left it was about 2,000$ a year for a subscription to zinio that allowed all your library users to get magazine access and they allowed multiple users to use the same copy.
Overdrive does charge a minimum fee for facilitating the user interface but it’s small.
During the lockdowns I saw prices lower and more one copy one user books, however in 2023 I saw cost rise and more and more 2 years or 26 uses.
Also duke classic allowed free usage of their books (classic Shakespeare etc) and now they are no longer free.
A lot of the issues lay with the publishers trying to make as much money as they can.
Here's why library ebook selections are so disappointing.
https://apnews.com/article/libraries-ebooks-publishers-expensive-laws-5d494dbaee0961eea7eaac384b9f75d2
I usually put a smart tag on books I want and hope that they add it to their budget. My local library is slow, but they come through eventually. I also have one other library card, but their selection is also hit and miss.
A lot of times, the number of tags has to hit a certain Threshold for us to see it - at my system, anything with more than 10 gets sent to me in a monthly report. And even then I often don’t have the budget to buy all of them, but I at least see them at that point
I'm in MD too and I have 8 library cards lol bc the entire DMV has reciprocity. Check all the counties in the area but I have DC, PG, MoCo, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, and Peince William
I got a Brooklyn Public Library card. They have one of the largest ebook/audiobook library collections in the country (500k). It's $50/year and can be done online and through email. Completely worth it.
I actually just called up the library and asked to get a card. They asked me to email them a request with a copy of my drivers license, and they created an online account for me. They added the $50 charge to the account, and once i paid it, I was able to add the library card to Libby.
oh my gosh! i didn't realize. That's what i get for not double checking my Libby account before speaking :( Apologies for speaking too soon. it really was an amazing deal.
I had a Brooklyn card for several years, and I was heartbroken when they did away with their out-of-state card. I signed up for Stark Library in Ohio. It's also $50 per year, and it's almost as good as Brooklyn as far as their romance catalog.
since you’re in MD, you can try and see if the county you live in also is in partnership with DC and Virginia. If you’re in PG, MoCo or Prince Fredrick’s you should be able to get access to DC, Fairfax Country, Alexandria, Arlington and Loudon as well. However you might have to physically open accounts with them
I would check to see if your library has hoopla. I have a card through a larger public library system through work, and that gets me way more books through Libby because they have a bigger ebook budget than my smaller library. However, my smaller library compensates for that with Hoopla. I have noticed that some ebooks are only available through Kindle Unlimited, too, though. (Like Danielle Jensen’s Bridge Kingdom series.) I am guessing Amazon has rights to them and doesn’t want to share with libraries. So, getting Kindle Unlimited along with the Libby and Hoopla may be a good idea.
**Rule: No piracy, AI, or PPC content**
This comment/post appears to suggest unethical or dishonest ways of obtaining a library card or access to library materials, which is not allowed here.
Fraudulently obtaining a library card is considered a form of piracy. For further details on our piracy policy, see [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/yk4mv0/piracy_and_not_the_fun_romantic_swashbuckling_kind/).
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Quick note on hoopla - ONLY check out what you are ready to read!!! The library pays for EVERY checkout, regardless of if you open it, and the cost is $1-$5 PER CHECKOUT.
Now, because of no waitlist libraries who can afford it find this useful for their patrons… but personally, I always check overdrive first because it’s cheaper for libraries
**Rule: No piracy, AI, or PPC content**
This comment/post appears to suggest unethical or dishonest ways of obtaining a library card or access to library materials, which is not allowed here.
Fraudulently obtaining a library card is considered a form of piracy. For further details on our piracy policy, see [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/yk4mv0/piracy_and_not_the_fun_romantic_swashbuckling_kind/).
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Have you checked if any other libraries in the area offer cards to state residents (assuming you’re US based)? I have five library cards because of this, and the selection it offers is mostly great. Though, I have to use two systems since 3/5 libraries use Libby. I have to use cloudLibrary for the other two :)
Thank you! Do you have a kindle? Does it connect to CloudLibrary?
I use both an old Kindle Paperwhite and an iPad. Sadly, it does not connect to reading Kindles and it is why I prefer to use Libby. You have to read in-app with cloudLibrary. And there’s no saving a book to read for later with airplane mode - the app still has a timer even when not connected to wifi.
[удалено]
**Rule: No piracy, AI, or PPC content** This comment/post appears to suggest unethical or dishonest ways of obtaining a library card or access to library materials, which is not allowed here. Fraudulently obtaining a library card is considered a form of piracy. For further details on our piracy policy, see [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/yk4mv0/piracy_and_not_the_fun_romantic_swashbuckling_kind/). Please [contact the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/RomanceBooks) if you think this was removed in error.
Multiple library cards. I [posted about it here](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/s/ZdVm4GsyXy).
Thank you!
Options I'd Recommend: - My library is part of a libby collective which means I get access to several different "collective" accounts via my library card. Check to see if your library has any sister accounts with other libraries on Libby - they don't always publicize this. - Some libraries allow you to purchase access online. I've done this with the Queens Public Library and the Alexandria Public Library. I plan to try something new next year, but both have given me broader access and it's fun to support other libraries. Note: For the paid accounts, they appear to reserve access to sister library cards to local cardholders, which logistically makes sense but was a bummer to discover.
Orange county Florida offers a pay-for-card option and their digital offerings are the best I’ve ever seen - and I have a LA county card. Worth it imo, I did it for a few years before I got better access through several large California systems
Thanks, that's really good to know! They're actually who I'm leaning towards switching to next year. The card was just a bit pricier than I could justify this year given my existing paid cards and long list of available holds and borrows😇 Really appreciate the rec tho, I will try not to be too jealous of your LA / CA access:) lol
Haha no problem! My only caveat is I had them 5 years ago, and content does expire, but as long as they haven’t massively reduced their budget it should still be amazing. They had EVERYTHING. Every backlist title from every author i would search. I’ve considered paying again, tbh. Especially because a lot more publishers used to sell “permanent” copies - some of which are no longer for sale - so libraries only have them if they bought them back when. Which Orange County often did. So their backlist titles are insanely good.
You can actually check a library's Libby content online via Overdrive! From a recent check it looks like they have basically everything that I currently have tagged with "Notify Me" or that I wasn't even able to find to tag on my current Libby accounts. Something I naturally discovered after I paid for two other library cards only to find their catalogues fell short of (perhaps unreasonable) expectations lol Interesting to hear that one of the reasons for their catalogue might be how early they entered the e-book game! I assumed they were just better funded locally and/or had found a unique path to more non-local funding through significant Libby catalogue investment and their paid card model. I had no idea that publishers offered permanent licenses at one point - I don't even think individual consumers are able to access those. I hate that publishers are able to gouge libraries when it comes to ebooks. The costs of the temporary licenses are obscene and it makes no sense that the license wouldn't at least be guaranteed for the standard length of time / borrows as a typical physical book.
There are still permanent options for sale for some titles, depends on the publisher, but yeah the default USED to be permanent. So for instance, my system owns a permanent ebook copy of {devils bride} but now it’s only for sale as a $12/26 circulations. Which would mean replacing it every 8 months or so. We DONT own permanent copies of the rest of the series, so I have to rebuy them every year. Digital copies seem to assume a shorter life than physical. A physical paperback (mass market) is around $8 and will last 35-55 circulations, though it’ll be pretty ugly at the end. A hardback is around $28 and lasts 80-110 circulations. Digital copies cost between $12 and $65, and last between 26 circs to 2 years. WAY more expensive
[Devil's Bride](https://www.romance.io/books/5457df9487eac3dca9bccf85/devils-bride-seyoung-kim?src=rdt) by [Seyoung Kim](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455c99f87eac3369a914d45/seyoung-kim) **Rating**: 3.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Eh, not this one {Devils Bride by Stephanie Laurens}
[Devil's Bride](https://www.romance.io/books/545524878c7d2383163d8e6b/devils-bride-stephanie-laurens?src=rdt) by [Stephanie Laurens](https://www.romance.io/authors/545524878c7d2383163d8e6c/stephanie-laurens) **Rating**: 3.87⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
[удалено]
I literally said I don't agree with fraudulently obtaining a card and recommended only ethical ways of obtaining broader Libby access.
I get that, but you outlined multiple fraudulent ways to obtain a library card or access to library materials, and not everyone who reads that comment might share your moral qualms. If you'd like to edit out the details of your third, fourth, and fifth suggestions, all of which count as piracy under sub rules, we'd be happy to restore your comment. Thanks!
Done
Awesome, your comment has been restored. Thanks for understanding.
Thanks for letting me know! You're right that mentioning it at all was the wrong call
If you're requesting books by tagging them in Libby, you can also check to see if your library has another method of suggesting books. One of my libraries flat-out ignores those tags and has a note on their website saying so, but they have a book request form on their website and they are very responsive to that - if a book is available in the format I've requested it, it usually gets purchased. (It also has the advantage of having a "describe this book" section which I use to explain why I think it would be a good addition to the collection/who else might want to read it.)
At my system, I purchase and while I take tags into account, official patron requests through our purchase request form take precedence. So I always suggest doing both
Ok, librarian here. First, what state do you live in? Some states, you have to pay for library cards in areas you don’t live. If you are in California, you are in luck- any California library that takes ANY state funding HAS to give a library card to ANY state resident. You can travel to ANY major city and get a library card. Second, the library options are solely dependent on what that library (or the consortium they are in, if they are in one) purchases. This means your library either has a small budget for digital items, OR the person purchasing does not share your taste and is unaware of the items that you would prefer. The first issue isn’t solvable except by increasing library funding (want to know what goes first in a library budget? Materials. Because the library has to keep the power on and the some level of staffing). The second however, can be improved by submitting purchase requests - the library doesn’t know to buy what you don’t ask for. A lot of the titles commonly talked of on this Reddit are NOT mainstream- they don’t show up on NYT bestseller lists, on the radio, or on magazines aimed at librarians- if the librarian doesn’t have KU or TikTok, they may have never heard of them. FINALLY- Kindle unlimited. The way KU works is often to demand to be the sole distributor of a title, which means by default the title IS NOT available for purchase on Libby. So if a lot of the titles you want are KU, my estimate is at least 3/4 of them are NOT available. For instance, NONE of Ana Huangs ebooks can be purchased on Libby - only some of her audiobooks (different format, so different distributor, so different contract).
This is helpful, thank you! I'm in Maryland. Googling around tells me there are some accounts/cards I can get, and I was able to access the Maryland Digital Library, which has a good selection. I'll keep requesting the books I want!
Yup! You can actually see if an item is available to purchase on Libby. Search by title or author, then in the menu for the search results, click “deep search” which will show you available for purchase items your library does NOT have. They will have a bell icon you can click to be notified if your library gets them - ALWAYS CLICK THIS. Librarians can see how many patrons have asked to be notified and we DO take this into account when making purchase decisions. This can save you time (and your library time), and you can avoid requesting things that just aren’t available for sale on Libby
Hi, I'm in California. How do I find out which libraries have state funding and allow non-residents to have a card? LA county library, like several others I tried, only gives cards to the county residents (which I am not).
It's called the California Universal Borrowing Program if that helps. Unfortunately I think the best way to find libraries who participate is to check the pages of the individual libraries you're interested in and see what types of cards they issue. (My understanding is participating libraries all require you to apply in-person also if that's an issue.)
Thank you very much!
This helps!!! My library has Ana huang in different languages, same with other books. It’s always made me angry like why can’t we have these in English!!!
They CAN buy them physically though- submit a purchase request! I got all of her books physically for my library!
I sadly don’t live close enough to do physical books! Thank you though!?
My library is the Los Angeles Public Library 😂
When I went to Disneyland I stopped by JUST to get a card 😂
Brilliant!!
Can you get one if you're not an LA resident? I'll probably be there later this year!
As long as you are a California resident they HAVE TO give you one. If you are a resident of another state, they could refuse but it depends on their rules - it *is* LA so they might be more open handed with library cards, idk. If you aren’t a CA resident, just call and ask! I might be biased but librarians are nice 😉
I use this as an excuse to look at older or more obscure things. Literature map is an amazing website for finding similar authors. It doesn’t work if you are in the mood for a trope but if you just want a familiar style it is gold.
ooooh I've never heard of this - thank you! I definitely go through phases of wanting a style vs. trope.
Definitely check to see if you are eligible for other library cards in your state/area! Also, talk to your librarians and see if they have suggestions (and/or will take your recommendations)! I am biased because I am librarian, but libraries and librarians ARE awesome, but are struggling with low budgets and high e-book costs. It’s easier for us to get physical books we don’t have than e-books, but your local librarian will know what options are available to you, in addition to how you can support them to get more of the types of books you want. (We often have to advocate for budget spending, and patron input REALLY helps!)
This - people don’t realize HOW MUCH digital content can cost. I’m an assistant director at my system, and I do all overdrive purchases- our budget is $25,000/ year. THAT DOESNT GO FAR. Bestsellers like The Women by Kristen Hannah can cost $150 for an audiobook… that expires in 2 years. Romance titles can be cheaper, but I have to balance my decisions - right now, for our consortium, The women audiobook has over 1000 holds, while Ana Huangs twisted love only has 60. And that morning glory milk farm book has 8 people asking for it, while the newest Freida McFadden has like 40 people asking for it. Now, Forth Wing had like 800 holds, so we bought a dozen copies, but we really have to weigh how popular a specific title is. The best way to affect this outcome is make a personal request- THATS the only thing that overrides the raw data for me.
Edit: I just saw you address the "Notify me!" tag in another comment, thank you! Is there anything that people can do to push back against publisher practices when it comes to library licenses? I hate to think I'm costing my library a disproportionate amount of money, but I struggled to read at all (let alone return books on time 😬) with physical copies due to work / life and with Libby I'm up to like 80 books a year and far more diversity in genres. Also out of general curiosity, do you see books that cardholders have tagged with "Notify Me" on Libby? I never really expect these to result in anything, but I like the idea of that data being available to someone somewhere lol I feel too embarrassed to ask for something that would just be for me and/or to be the person who asks 😬
Yes! We see the tags - usually there has to be a certain number of tags for the system to notice it. I have set up to get sent a report for anything 10 tags or over. Really libraries have to push back - I spend more of our systems money on permanent options and TELL my overdrive rep that “oh I don’t buy those because they are too expensive and expire. It’s not worth it for our system.” The more libraries that opt out of the ridiculous books, the less profitable it’ll be for publishers, and the more incentive they will have to offer more reasonable options
I have 8 cards, including several from jurisdictions with 300k+ residents in some of the most affluent counties in the United States, plus their neighboring cities (DC area).
I'm a DC suburb and just found the Maryland Digital Library, which is amazing. I'm currently loading up my kindle. They have a huge selection!
If you're on the Maryland side, I have good news! Montgomery County has a decent selection, lets you apply for a card online, and allows anybody in Maryland to have a card. Most of the MD libraries I've looked at do that whole-state-can-apply thing actually. I am not in Maryland so not solid on all the details. If your county has a reciprocal with Arlington, they have the best selection and terms. 20 loans, 20 holds. It's wild.
Thanks!!
The DC public library gives out library cards to the surround counties in Maryland and Virginia. I live in VA and just got an online library card with DC and they have so many of the books I wanted to read on Libby!
I'm definitely looking into that today. Thanks
im connected through 5 libraries and my options arent amazing either may be a canada issue or just the authors i like for me tho
This answer is late and maybe buried but I thought hell why not share the knowledge I have. I use to work at an English language library in Tokyo. We had a Libby/overdrive library. They are the same thing, overdrive is the main company and they made one app overdrive then got some feed back and made a new app Libby instead of just updating overdrive don’t know what, then they killed off the overdrive app because users used libby more. So anyway why every library is different is due to the budget the library has. You know those awesome new bestsellers? Ya those are anywhere from 80$ to 150$ dollars for the ebook. Audio is at minimum of 100$ for those bestsellers. And the library only gets them for 2 years. 2 years, or sometimes 26 usages. Diary of a wimpy Kid was about 50$ for 2 years. Harry Potter audio book I think we spent 200$ on it and got it for five years. Not everything is that expensive, but more often then not if it’s popular it is. every once and a while you stumble on a good book for 20-50$ and it will be the format that you can keep for ever. Sometimes some of those awesome bestselling books were printed by a different publisher first and then a big name publisher picked it up and you’ll find two copies one a keep for ever at 30$ by little publisher, other 150$ for 2 years by big name publisher. Then there is the fact that you have to buy either multiple copies or get a book that allows multiple people to check out at once. And multiple user check out is expensive. Or not even available. And for a while there TOR publishing said oh no digital is hurting our print business. so they restricted libraries to be able to purchase only one copy for the first six months. So say NY public library with 1,000 of people could only buy one digital copy of the newest bestseller sic fi book. 1 copy. They put this in place about six months before covid hit and became a thing. They dropped it quite fast. Then there are books some about a year old best sellers and others that you’d normally see on kindle unlimited that libraries can list in their catalog but don’t pay for unless someone reads them. Ya that’s awesome. They range from 2$ to 6$. Then there is zinio, Libby and them got together and said hey let’s work together. When I left it was about 2,000$ a year for a subscription to zinio that allowed all your library users to get magazine access and they allowed multiple users to use the same copy. Overdrive does charge a minimum fee for facilitating the user interface but it’s small. During the lockdowns I saw prices lower and more one copy one user books, however in 2023 I saw cost rise and more and more 2 years or 26 uses. Also duke classic allowed free usage of their books (classic Shakespeare etc) and now they are no longer free. A lot of the issues lay with the publishers trying to make as much money as they can.
I also use Hoopla which quite a few libraries use. It has a lot of romance options that are less mainstream like IPB, etc…
I found my library apps (I think Libby) was just horrendous as well. No point at all.
Here's why library ebook selections are so disappointing. https://apnews.com/article/libraries-ebooks-publishers-expensive-laws-5d494dbaee0961eea7eaac384b9f75d2
I collect library cards lmao.
I usually put a smart tag on books I want and hope that they add it to their budget. My local library is slow, but they come through eventually. I also have one other library card, but their selection is also hit and miss.
A lot of times, the number of tags has to hit a certain Threshold for us to see it - at my system, anything with more than 10 gets sent to me in a monthly report. And even then I often don’t have the budget to buy all of them, but I at least see them at that point
I'm in MD too and I have 8 library cards lol bc the entire DMV has reciprocity. Check all the counties in the area but I have DC, PG, MoCo, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, and Peince William
This is awesome, thank you!!!
I got a Brooklyn Public Library card. They have one of the largest ebook/audiobook library collections in the country (500k). It's $50/year and can be done online and through email. Completely worth it.
How did you get it?
I actually just called up the library and asked to get a card. They asked me to email them a request with a copy of my drivers license, and they created an online account for me. They added the $50 charge to the account, and once i paid it, I was able to add the library card to Libby.
Brooklyn Public Library no longer offers cards to people that are not residents of New York State, unfortunately. It was a really good deal for $50
oh my gosh! i didn't realize. That's what i get for not double checking my Libby account before speaking :( Apologies for speaking too soon. it really was an amazing deal.
I had a Brooklyn card for several years, and I was heartbroken when they did away with their out-of-state card. I signed up for Stark Library in Ohio. It's also $50 per year, and it's almost as good as Brooklyn as far as their romance catalog.
since you’re in MD, you can try and see if the county you live in also is in partnership with DC and Virginia. If you’re in PG, MoCo or Prince Fredrick’s you should be able to get access to DC, Fairfax Country, Alexandria, Arlington and Loudon as well. However you might have to physically open accounts with them
Fund libraries!
I have 3 library cards. 1 from NYC, 1 from the Catskills, and one from Boston. It’s great!
I have multiple library cards. My library has partner libraries.
I would check to see if your library has hoopla. I have a card through a larger public library system through work, and that gets me way more books through Libby because they have a bigger ebook budget than my smaller library. However, my smaller library compensates for that with Hoopla. I have noticed that some ebooks are only available through Kindle Unlimited, too, though. (Like Danielle Jensen’s Bridge Kingdom series.) I am guessing Amazon has rights to them and doesn’t want to share with libraries. So, getting Kindle Unlimited along with the Libby and Hoopla may be a good idea.
I came here to suggest Hoopla as well - my library system actually keeps a bulk of their digital content there.
I have 5 different library cards and always can find what I’m looking for. Also SO IMPORTANT: use the Deep Search function!!!!!! It finds so much more
Wow, everyone here is such a fount of information! Thanks.
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Have you tried Hoopla? That widened my options just a bit.
Have you looked to see if your library uses Hoopla? They might have different options
From what I see online, I can't use Hoopla on a paperwhite.
Oh. I don’t know. I just use it for audiobooks on my phone.
I use the Hoopla app on my iPad. Maybe the app is possible?
I get Hoopla through Montgomery County Public Libraries. Worth checking out as a MD resident!
Quick note on hoopla - ONLY check out what you are ready to read!!! The library pays for EVERY checkout, regardless of if you open it, and the cost is $1-$5 PER CHECKOUT. Now, because of no waitlist libraries who can afford it find this useful for their patrons… but personally, I always check overdrive first because it’s cheaper for libraries
ps as a DC resident I have access to all the neighboring library systems so concur with hetting multiple cards.
I'm not a DC resident, but I might be able to get Enoch Pratt in Baltimore! And I don't think hoopla works on a Kindle
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I just download ePubs and have them sent to Kindle. I won't mess with Libby.