Exploring the Libby App: Enhancing Durham University Library’s Leisure Reading and Wellbeing Collection

At Durham University Library, supporting teaching, learning and research is our key objective – and our collections strongly reflect this. One area of our collections we have wanted to develop further is books for leisure reading and wellbeing.

Durham University Library and Collections is there for all staff and students, across all departments and faculties. We have been asked many times over the years if we had a general fiction section or popular magazines. Now we can say that we do!

In August this year we launched the Libby App to make a range of titles for leisure and wellbeing available in an easy and accessible format, by offering a digital platform for leisure reading that enhances mental well-being and offers a welcome escape from the demands of academic and everyday life. The titles initially selected come from ‘Need To Read’ suggestions our users have made over the year, and through the ‘Notify Me’ Function on the app. Titles can also be found via Discover but for the additional benefits it provides, the Libby App is recommended.

What is the Libby App?

The Libby App is a free and user-friendly platform that allows you to borrow eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines from Durham University Library’s growing collection. Currently we have over 5000 magazines, over 700 eBooks and over 150 audiobooks and this will continue to increase over the coming year. You can access it on your smartphone, tablet, or desktop, making it easy to read or listen to your chosen titles wherever you are. All you need is your University library login details just like any other online resource provided by the Library.

You can check out 3 titles at a time on the app and this is in addition to your usual borrowing allocation.

Using the Libby App

Getting started with Libby is simple and free. Here’s how you can start borrowing titles today:

1. Download the Libby App: You can download the app from the App Store or Google Play for your mobile device, or visit Libby App website to use it on your browser or computer.
2. Log In Using Your University Credentials: When you open the app, select Durham University Library and log in using your University username and password.
3. Browse the Collection: Once you’ve logged in, you can browse the library’s extensive collection by genre, or you can search for specific titles or authors. There is also a feature where you can select a ‘random title’ for those of you who want to try something new.
4. Borrow and Read: Once you’ve found something you like, simply click borrow, and it will be available for you to read or listen to immediately.

If there is a book or audiobook that you want access to via Libby, you can use the Deep Search feature to find the title and then tap Notify Me. This will then let the library know someone is interested in the title and it will be considered for purchase and added to the collection. This is only for leisure and wellbeing reading, so if the title is required for teaching or personal study please use the purchase request form.

More information about using the app can be found on our LibGuide.

Why Leisure Reading and Wellbeing books?

Leisure reading is a great way to recharge your batteries, improve your mental health, and enhance your wellbeing! Whether it’s getting lost in the new Sally Rooney novel, discovering a new genre, or enjoying an audiobook, reading can help reduce stress, improve focus, and provide a much-needed break from intense study periods or just a break from everyday work (and/or the morning commute!) The Library was already doing this to some extent with the leisure reading and wellbeing collection (located in The Snug Level 2 of the Bill Bryson Library) – the Libby App doesn’t replace this it just increases the titles available in a more accessible way.

Audiobooks

One of the many benefits of the app is the range of audiobooks available. Audiobooks are a format yet to be fully embraced by academic publishers (in terms of making them availbale to libraries) but it is clear from the usage already that you are loving the audiobooks we have on the app!

Our current top 5 audiobooks via the Libby App.

1. The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Atomic Habits by James Clear
3. Beloved by Toni Morrison
4. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
5. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

eBooks

EBooks are far from new to Durham University Library, but fiction books are not always easy to acquire through our usual vendors. The Libby App allows us to get access to a wider range of fiction books for leisure reading and wellbeing purposes. So, if you find carrying that paperback or hardback in your bag along with all your work or study items a bit too much, then maybe reading an eBook on the app is a good way to get a few pages read.

Our current top 5 eBooks via the Libby App:

1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
2. Night Waking by Sarah Moss
3. The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
4. Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
5. Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Magazines

The Library has always had an ever growing collection of academic journals, but we haven’t always at a range of magazines for leisure reading. We all love looking through a magazine but they are not always cheap! With the Libby App we have a range of magazines covering all genres: from cooking to cross stitch, running to used cars or stand-alone issues celebrating popular culture icons such as Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton or Pokemon – you will find something to entertain yourself.

Our current top 5 magazines via the Libby App:

1. The New Yorker
2. New Scientist (International Edition)
3. Guardian Weekly
4. The New York Review of Books
5. Radio Times

So, happy reading! And feel free to let us know what you have been reading or listening to via the app – we love a book/magazine recommendation.