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The user experience with Libby is so much better than any other audiobook service I have tried. The app is nice looking and responsive, but also minimal. Bonus

The user experience with Libby is so much better than any other audiobook service I have tried. The app is nice looking and responsive, but also minimal. Bonus points because using their website provides the exact same UI and UX as the app.

resoluteteeth 5y ago
Huh, I didn't even realize there was a web version of Libby. I've always just used the normal overdrive website. The UI is good in some ways but filtering/sorting are extremely clumsy in my opinion. It works perfectly as a reader/player once you have books/audiobooks checked out though.
danielskogly 5y ago
I fully agree! The libraries of Oslo use Libby for digital non-Norwegian audiobooks, e-books and comics, and the user experience is light years ahead of the one they use for Norwegian content. I initially didn’t know about the web interface, and was pleasantly surprised to find it has feature parity with the app.
- canuckintime 5y ago
  > I initially didn’t know about the web interface, it has feature parity with the app. The native Libby apps have downloads/offline access and you can dismiss all the ux/window chrome while reading. The web interface doesn’t offer those features. The web interface is a nice-to-have backup but Libby has discontinued development on their Windows app and keeps redirecting to the web interface which isn’t a suitable full substitute. There are great Windows tablet hardware that paired well with Libby and no other platform quite matches it for comics
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    If you install the Libby webapp (Edge or Chrome), it works just like a normal program, including showing up in the list of installed programs (start menu). No offline support, although there's no reason Libby couldn't add it using a service worker.
iab 5y ago
Oh my gosh - the difference between Libby and the previous overdrive dreck is transformational. So slick across different platforms.
themodelplumber 5y ago
Really? Their icons and proprietary design have confused me again and again. For one, they have a library card icon that looks like a battery charging. When the app shows you a checked-out book, there is a checkmark on top of the battery icon. :-) The audiobook listening tools aren't bad though. Personally I prefer the other app our library offers, but it's nice to have a choice of different collections.

resoluteteeth 5y ago

Huh, I didn't even realize there was a web version of Libby. I've always just used the normal overdrive website. The UI is good in some ways but filtering/sorting are extremely clumsy in my opinion. It works perfectly as a reader/player once you have books/audiobooks checked out though.

danielskogly 5y ago

I fully agree! The libraries of Oslo use Libby for digital non-Norwegian audiobooks, e-books and comics, and the user experience is light years ahead of the one they use for Norwegian content. I initially didn’t know about the web interface, and was pleasantly surprised to find it has feature parity with the app.

canuckintime 5y ago
> I initially didn’t know about the web interface, it has feature parity with the app. The native Libby apps have downloads/offline access and you can dismiss all the ux/window chrome while reading. The web interface doesn’t offer those features. The web interface is a nice-to-have backup but Libby has discontinued development on their Windows app and keeps redirecting to the web interface which isn’t a suitable full substitute. There are great Windows tablet hardware that paired well with Libby and no other platform quite matches it for comics
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  If you install the Libby webapp (Edge or Chrome), it works just like a normal program, including showing up in the list of installed programs (start menu). No offline support, although there's no reason Libby couldn't add it using a service worker.

iab 5y ago

Oh my gosh - the difference between Libby and the previous overdrive dreck is transformational. So slick across different platforms.

themodelplumber 5y ago

Really? Their icons and proprietary design have confused me again and again. For one, they have a library card icon that looks like a battery charging. When the app shows you a checked-out book, there is a checkmark on top of the battery icon. :-) The audiobook listening tools aren't bad though. Personally I prefer the other app our library offers, but it's nice to have a choice of different collections.