That’s something it may need to do, given the app has already experienced a few outages and issues this year, which rendered it inaccessible to users at times. The company says that winding down OverDrive will allow it to focus its resources fully on Libby. (For this niche use case, the legacy OverDrive apps for Mac and Windows will still be supported. And it won’t support downloading audiobooks to a desktop computer - a feature once needed for transferring files to MP3 players. Libby is also not available on the Amazon Appstore. Instead, users are encouraged to use “Notify Me” to express their interest in titles not yet in their library’s collection. However, Libby will lack a few things found in OverDrive, including the “Recommend to Library (RTL)” feature, which is being discontinued across platforms with the app’s sunset. (OverDrive only supported Android Auto.) Libby also provides access to other entertainment resources, if supported by the library, like Kanopy, Craftsy, Universal Class, Indieflix and others.
OverDrive also didn’t offer features like Libby’s ability to export notes and highlights, Sonos speaker integration or CarPlay. Some of Libby’s features weren’t ever available on OverDrive, including the support for multiple library cards and the unified bookshelf for all loans and holds. However, while the company had earlier shared its general plans around its sunset timeline for OverDrive, it only a few days ago announced the actual end-of-life date for the app as being May 1, 2023. Later, OverDrive app users were being asked to make the switch, too, with the goal of having most move to the newer Libby app by the end of 2022.Īlso last year, OverDrive removed the legacy app from the Apple App Store, Google Play and the Microsoft App Store so new users would not be able to find it and install it on their own devices. It suggested, for example, that libraries begin removing references to the OverDrive app from their websites and other promotional materials. In August 2021, OverDrive first detailed its plans to transition users to its newer mobile app Libby and began the process of working with partnered institutions to guide their own respective user bases to make the switch as well. But it’s fair to say the app was beginning to show its age in more recent years, requiring this shift. The OverDrive app had been a part of readers’ workflows for many years, offering an easy way to access your digital library. Readers will be directed to use the newer digital app Libby instead. After announcing its plans to sunset the app and removing it from app stores last year, the company now says that OverDrive will fully shut down on May 1, 2023. Now, this longtime digital reading companion will be shutting down for good. For over a decade, the OverDrive app has offered a service that allows institutions, including public libraries and schools, to lend their digital catalogs of e-books, audiobooks and other digital media to online users.
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