OverDrive and Libby
Our OverDrive collection contains thousands of eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines. It includes fiction, non-fiction and magazines for adults, young adults and children.
AWA - New shared digital collection
On a mobile device? Download the Libby App to listen on the go.
Libby
Libby - the OverDrive app
OverDrive FAQs
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Our switch to AWA, our new shared digital collection with Selwyn Libraries, will be pretty seamless. Christchurch City Libraries customers who are already signed into the Libby App or our classic OverDrive site won’t need to do anything. On the 1 July, our Go Live date, they will see the collection has changed its name to AWA.
New Libby App customers will follow the prompts to find their library. A search for Christchurch City Libraries will guide them to the AWA collection. Then they select Christchurch City Libraries from the AWA dropdown and sign in with their Library card.
New customers to, or existing customers who've signed out of, our classic OverDrive site will also select the Christchurch City Libraries option from the AWA dropdown to sign in with their Library card.
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Libby's Skip the Line collection are special copies of popular titles that we've set aside from the holds list so you can borrow them straight away. They work like our Bestseller Collection in our libraries, except they are in digital format and free! Titles in our Skip the Line collection are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you find a Skip the Line title, you can borrow it immediately but it does come with a few unique rules.
Skip the Line copies of titles:
- Have a two-week loan
- Can't be renewed
- Have a limit of one at a time.
In Libby, Skip the line copies are marked with a shamrock icon. You will see the Skip the Line list on our Libby homepage, in search results, or when browsing. There's also a Skip the line filter on the Search page.
On our OverDrive homepage you'll see our full Skip the Line collection.
If you want a longer lending period and don't mind waiting, you can still place a hold on a Skip the Line title.
Here's more information about how to place a hold on a Skip the Line title in Libby.
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The Libby app is a one-tap reading app for borrowing eBooks and eAudiobooks from your library. This free app, created by OverDrive, is available for Android, iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch), and Windows 10 devices.
- Install the Libby app from your device’s app store.
- In Libby, follow the prompts to find your library and sign in with a library card and PIN/password
- Browse your library's catalog, then borrow a book or audiobook or open a magazine.
- Borrowed titles appear on your Shelf and download to the app automatically so you can read them when you’re offline. Tap Open In Libby or Open Audiobook to start reading or listening in the app.
Happy reading!
Libby Help has more information on navigating the app
Download the Libby app
- iOS devices: Apple App Store
- Android devices: Google Play
- Amazon Fire tablets: Amazon Appstore
For Windows, Mac, and Chromebooks open libbyapp.com
Note: libbyapp.com works best in up-to-date versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. -
How can people log into the new service?
The transition will be as seamless as possible for library customers. Our Christchurch City Libraries customers who are already signed into the Libby App or our classic OverDrive site won’t need to do anything. On the 1 July, our Go Live date, they will see the collection has changed its name to AWA.New Libby customers will follow the prompts to find their library. A search for Christchurch City Libraries will guide them to the AWA collection. Then they select Christchurch City Libraries from the AWA dropdown and sign in with their Library card. New customers to, or existing customers who've signed out of, our classic OverDrive site will also select the Christchurch City Libraries option from the AWA dropdown to sign in with their Library card.
Why won’t Christchurch residents get the same increase in access to content as Selwyn?
Due to the difference in population size the Selwyn Libraries initial base collection will be less than Christchurch’s initial base collection.Won’t this result in more competition/longer wait time for popular titles?
Current selection and purchasing criteria is based on availability and customer demand; this will not change with the shared collection.Why are we doing this?
Library users will have more choice due to a richer variety of content, particularly newer and more popular items. The collaboration will help to build relationships between the two organisations, encouraging sharing of ideas and learning for the enhancement of services for all library members.How much is this going to cost?
The costs are within existing budgets.How are you able to provide this service without it costing more?
The new service delivers better value for money through a growth in the user base and in expected collection turnover.Is this a permanent arrangement?
This is a trial partnership lasting for a two-year period, from 1 July 2025. Over that timeframe both Selwyn Libraries and Christchurch City Libraries will conduct regular monitoring of data and usage. Parties will meet twice per annum to review the past period and forward plan. Prior to June 2027, we will review the success of the collaboration.Why aren’t other Canterbury councils included?
If the digital access partnership is successful, other opportunities to collaborate may be considered, such as programming and events, developing shared staff professional development, or expanding the arrangement to include the other Canterbury councils. -
OverDrive is removing the MP3 audiobook format from our OverDrive website on November 13 2024. At the same time support for OverDrive's legacy desktop app for Windows and MAC is ending too.
OverDrive’s legacy desktop app for Windows and Mac was required for downloading MP3 audiobooks. This app has not been available to install since February 2022. As a result, this has caused confusion for customers who tried download the MP3 audiobook format but couldn't install the necessary software.
After this change, you can listen to audiobooks using the following options:
- Stream on a computer using the “Listen now in browser” format on our OverDrive website
- Stream on a computer using libbyapp.com
- Download for offline listening using Libby on a supported Android, iOS, or Amazon Fire device. Here's some tips for switching to Libby from OverDrive.
