OverDrive at U-M
The University of Michigan library is currently using OverDrive, an eBook and audiobook platform used by libraries across the country, as a platform for popular fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novel eBooks and audio books.
Most books have a default checkout period of 21 days. (Books used for course reserves and textbooks may have checkouts of only 1 or 3 days.) Users at U-M are limited to three books (either eBooks or audiobooks) checked out from OverDrive at a time. Once you have reached the limit you will need to return a book before you can check out a new one. (You can return books early—you don't have to wait for the loan to expire.)
You can browse, check out and read books online at https://umich.overdrive.com/, or you can use the Libby app on your mobile device.
You may wish to check to see if your local public library also has access to OverDrive. The Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Saline and Ypsilanti District Libraries offer eBooks and audiobooks through OverDrive/Libby. You can have access to multiple libraries on Libby, so if you are already using OverDrive/Libby through your public library you can add U-M as an additional library.
Using OverDrive
Before using OverDrive, you must first create an account on OverDrive.
Go to the U-M OverDrive site at https://umich.overdrive.com/
Click on the 'Sign In' link near the upper right.
Then on the next page—the Welcome screen— you'll click another 'Sign In' link.
You will be presented with the standard U-M login screen (if you are not logged in already elsewhere).
The first time you connect to OverDrive, in the process of logging in you will be presented with the Information Release (OverDrive needs to know who you are so that you can check out books and access them on your devices). Review the information and click on 'Confirm'.
You are now ready to check out books in OverDrive!
For more help with Overdrive, see https://help.overdrive.com/
Using Libby
You can use the Overdrive Libby app to discover and read eBooks and audiobooks from OverDrive on your mobile device, phone or tablet (Android and Apple iOS are supported). You can also use Libby to send books you have borrowed to your Kindle.
To begin, download the Libby app from your device's app store.
Open the Libby app, click on the icon in bottom center (three horizontal lines), and select 'Add a Library'.
(Please note that your exact steps to take will depend on your specific device and whether or not you have already activated Libby for another library!)
Search for 'Michigan', then select 'University of Michigan' (Alternately, search by Zip code: 48109)
You'll see that you are now at the University of Michigan Shelf. But you still need to log in! Scroll down a ways on the page until you find the "Let's add a library card..." section. (Note: for Libby purposes, your 'Library Card' is your University of Michigan login, not a physical card!) Click on 'Enter Library Account Details'.
Then click on 'Next'
It will then send you to OverDrive.com and present you with the standard U-M login page. Login here, just as you would when authenticating to use other library resources remotely (you may need to go through standard Duo authentication if you haven't done so already. You may also be presented with the Information Release screen.). Then go back to the Libby app—you'll see that you now have a U-M Library card on Libby! Click on 'Next' and you're ready to browse, read, and listen on Libby!
For more on installing and using Libby, see the video at https://meet.libbyapp.com/
For more help with Libby, see https://help.libbyapp.com/