You may have noticed a recent change to holds in Libby and I wanted to give you a bit of a run down on these changes. When you place hold for suspension you will no longer select and end date for that suspension – now you just unsuspend the hold when you are ready! Please note that “Deliver Later” is now replaced with “Suspend” so when you want something later you want to suspend it.
If you currently have a hold in Libby and you check on it then you will see a notice letting you know about this change. Don’t be alarmed – all you need to know is that when you are ready you just unsuspend that hold. You don’t need to figure out a date for your hold suspensions (“Deliver Later”) anymore just go and unsuspend when you are ready.
Please be aware suspends for more than a year will lapse (meaning that it if a hold is suspended for 365 days in a row it will be cancelled). Also, if you miss your hold on the first try it will be automatically suspended until you unsuspend it!
The Libby Help page will have videos on suspensions soon but in the meantime should you need a help video for Libby please click here!
Have you noticed that the Libby home screen looks a bit different lately? The middle button, which is usually the colorful Libby icon, has turned a mysterious grey color. It’s the menu option to access Libby’s new AI Reader’s Advisory tool, Inspire Me.
I might be a little skeptical about AI functions being smashed into every app and aspect of our digital lives. However, Inspire Me has rolled out to Libby users worldwide this month, and you might get some questions about it. It isn’t completely awful, I promise!
Below, you can see that the Home button has been replaced by that grey-ed out Libby icon. Tapping it takes users to the Inspire Me screen.
Users are first presented with simple options: fiction, nonfiction, and tags. The tags option lets users select from their own self-created tags, which I think is pretty cool.
Note that on this screen, users can scroll past the Inspire Me section to access the usual home menu. I’ve already heard some outcry over the “loss” of the settings and support tools, so it’s good to know the menu is still there. There’s no way to turn off or opt out of Inspire Me mode, but users can scroll past it to get to the regular Manage Cards, Settings, Information, and Help sections.
After the basics, patrons are presented with more granular subjects as well as age groups (kids, teens, and adults). Only one subject can be selected at a time. In this example, users wouldn’t be able to select “aquatic” and “celestial” (though if you have a recommendation, let me know!). I chose “adventurous.”
Behold! Libby presents the AI generated “inspirations,” which are short summaries pulled from Libby’s metadata and passed through an LLM. “Arctic expeditions ending in disaster and loss” (Shackleton/Endurance edit added for dramatic effect)? My favorite!
Once users have picked an inspiration, they can swipe through to choose from five recommended titles. Libby prioritizes titles that are currently available for check out in the catalog.
As we all know, AI and large language models are imperfect and can make mistakes. If the Inspire Me recommendations seem off in any way, users can flag it as inappropriate and explain why. “Inappropriate” here means the suggestion does not match the prompts, e.g. if I got title recommendations about meatball recipes or outer space.
A chart pops up where users can select which suggestion was inappropriate. Submissions are anonymous, so users won’t receive a response from OverDrive, but it helps train hallucinations out of the AI tool.
Personally, I wish there were improvements in their basic search function (can we get an “OR” operator please!) before they jumped on the AI bandwagon, but here we are. Have you used this new function yet? How inspired are you? Have you heard anything from your patrons about it?
So the kids have their newly-sharpened pencils & first-day outfits…but you’re not REALLY back-to-school ready without Tutor.com!
Tutor.com Live Homework Help offers online tutoring for grades K—12, as well as college level students in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Non-traditional students and adult learners can also take advantage of essay writing, skills building, GED prep, and other tutoring services designed specifically for adults. There’s also SAT/ACT and other test prep, study skills, and so much more! Users can get online help from real tutors every day from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.
BlueCareer provides information on more than 100 skilled trades, connects patrons with hundreds of trade schools across the United States and Canada, and provides training resources for those seeking to build their trade knowledge and experience.
FinancialFit offers patrons short, easy-to-understand lessons, videos, and interactive tools to help develop and support basic financial literacy. Print material that provides similar information is consistently popular with our users, and we’re excited to be able to offer this digital resource as well!
Join us in September to learn more about these resources. If you cannot join us on the 23rd, the session will be recorded and posted on the Backstage site afterwards.
