Libby App Embraces AI for Book Discovery, Sparking Mixed Reactions
The popular digital library lending app Libby, developed by Overdrive, is integrating artificial intelligence into its platform. A new feature named Inspire Me is set to launch officially in September following a soft rollout this month. This AI-powered tool is designed to help users discover books tailored to their local library’s specific digital collection.
Unlike open-ended AI chatbots that have faced public scrutiny, Overdrive is taking a more controlled approach with its discovery process. Users will not type free-form prompts into a box. Instead, the feature guides them through a series of predefined questions to understand their preferences. These questions cover categories like fiction or biography, target age groups such as adult or child, and select descriptive adjectives like clever or silly. The tool can also generate recommendations based on a random selection of titles a user has previously saved in their app.
Once the preferences are set, the AI model will provide a list of five book suggestions that are immediately available for borrowing from the user’s connected library. Each recommendation will include a short explanation for why it was chosen, connecting it back to the user’s stated interests.
The announcement has been met with sharp criticism from some members of the library community. Librarian Rachel Storm expressed strong disapproval on the social platform Bluesky, a sentiment echoed by user Orion Kidder who commented on the move as a form of enshittification for the beloved app.
Addressing potential privacy concerns, Libby has published an AI privacy policy specific to the Inspire Me feature. The policy states that the AI model only receives tags associated with a random selection of a user’s saved titles. Overdrive asserts that it does not send any personal user data or device information to the model, only the book titles themselves. The company also claims to have designed the feature with energy efficiency in mind and will monitor its computational footprint over time.
From a practical standpoint, the feature appears to be a relatively restrained and potentially useful application of AI technology, focusing narrowly on improving discovery within a user’s existing library ecosystem. Its success will likely depend on the accuracy of its recommendations and the continued trust of its user base.
The Inspire Me feature is scheduled for a broad release to all Libby users in September. It will be accessible by tapping the Libby icon within the app’s menu.
