Libby is adding AI book recommendations—and users are pushing back.
The library e-book and audiobook app rolled out a new feature called “Inspire Me.” It lets readers get book recs by typing prompts or using their saved titles. Users can narrow suggestions by genre, mood, and even quirky scenarios like “time travelers rescue dragons from medieval knights.”
You tap “Inspire Me” on Libby’s home screen. Then pick fiction or nonfiction, age range, tone, and more. The app serves up five titles from the user’s library’s digital collection, prioritizing what’s immediately available to borrow. 
The feature relies on Overdrive, Libby’s parent company, scanning each library’s catalog. No off-site content is pulled. Overdrive says it avoids collecting unnecessary personal info and doesn’t share data with third parties or AI models. User activity isn’t fed to the AI, and shared tags reveal only saved book titles, not user details.
Some readers and librarians posted on social and Reddit, unhappy with AI in their trusted app. Privacy concerns are also a common theme.
Overdrive’s chief marketing officer, Jen Leitman, pushed back, stressing AI won’t replace human curation.
“Inspire Me uses responsible AI integration to help patrons dive deeper into the incredible catalogs their local libraries have curated,” Leitman said.
“By surfacing titles that align with what readers are searching for, Inspire Me helps patrons discover more of the books their libraries have already invested in. It’s not about replacing human insight, it’s about making discovery easier, smarter, and more intuitive.”
The feature quietly soft-launched earlier this month via #InspireMe searches in the app. Full rollout starts in September.
The backlash highlights readers’ complicated feelings about AI creeping into every corner—even library apps. Overdrive is monitoring reactions as it pushes forward with AI-powered discovery.
