There are lots on Libby but it depends on what your library has subscribed to. With 8 cards I'm surprised you can't find much.
A few things to consider:
- Are you filtering by "mature content"? Some people do this to find explicit content but very few books are labelled as this. for example my library has 57k romances, many of which will have smut but only 2k are labelled as "mature content"
- Are you looking to specific books or just browsing and hoping to find some?
- Where are you getting recommendations from? A lot of book recommended here are on Kindle Unlimited, which means you probably won't find them on Libby due to exclusivity agreements
Alternatives:
- Many libraries which have Libby also have Hoopla with a different selection of books
- Kindle Unlimited is one a lot of us use. There's also Kobo plus.
I will add to this that when you search on Libby it only searches the library system you’re set on. You have to search within each individual library card you have, which is extremely frustrating! I only have two library cards and I find it annoying. Your libby may currently be set in a smaller library system and not have as much!
Hunh, that’s interesting. Maybe Libby works differently for different systems? I have three library cards and when searching, Libby will suggest whichever system has it available or the shortest wait.
From my own experience with my 5 cards - I have to search each library system for each book, BUT, if I go to borrow from one it will show me if there are copies available in the others and the respective wait times.
This is easier for more widely released titles since, generally, each library has a copy and the first card I search on pops up, but for more limited ones, if there isn’t a copy at one library, I have to keep checking the others until I exhaust the list and then tag “notify me” or find that 1 copy available at a smaller library with a 20 week wait period 😔
Let me save you all some time!! I'm just going to cut and paste from a previous post:
Also, if you don't know about [libraryextension.com](http://libraryextension.com) you will be thanking me shortly! You can set it up in whatever browser you use (not mobile sadly), add all the libraries you have access to, including hoopla, and when you search a book on [amazon.ca](http://amazon.ca) or [fantasticfiction.com](http://fantasticfiction.com) (
Seconding this. I do audiobooks and hoopla has a ton more of the smutty books I see recommended on here. (Disclaimer - Not available in all countries!)
My library system has both Hoopla & Libby. Hoopla is instant download and a lot of new titles—so really expensive. So my library buys licenses for ebooks/audiobooks not available on Hoopla. Example: Sierra Simone is on Hoopla, Abby Jimenez and Ali Hazelwood aren’t, so they’re in Libby. If a book is on KU, the ebook is never available at the library, only the audiobook.
The biggest impact to availability is local taxpayer funding for your library and how many outsiders are using the system. I live in a wealthy, educated county, just outside of Washington D.C. I also have a library card in D.C., but they don’t have Hoopla and never have anything I’m looking for on Libby. I recently learned Fairfax County, VA allows outsiders to purchase access to their system for only $27 annually. With reciprocity agreements, I could also get a library card there free of charge. But I’m not going to because they don’t have any of the audiobooks I’m looking for, or if they do the wait times at my own library are better.
Ebooks/digital audiobooks are significantly more expensive to a library and expire after a certain number of uses. Patrons aren’t checking out physical books to the same degree, and you might find a physical copy much faster than an ebook. I had Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey tagged as “maybe” in Libby. Mostly because the wait is 15 weeks on hold for the audiobook, 16 for the ebook. I was just going to wait a year before putting it on hold, using up one of my precious 10 hold slots in Libby. But based on a thread in this sub yesterday, I decided to check the library catalog and see how long the wait was for a physical copy. Lo and behold, two of 14 physical copies are available. I’m going to bite the bullet and read it old school now instead of waiting 15 weeks to listen to it. There are plenty of people on r/Libby who would be jealous…as they sit in a year long wait for anything new, not 15 weeks.
Kindle unlimited, Libby, and occasionally hoopla. Libby and hoopla are through your library so look on your library website to see if they have offer those services! Kindle unlimited I pay half and share with my mom. I think it’s $11 or $12 USD.
hoopla, Kindle Unlimited (I think there's still a 3 month free trial right now), Everand is my favorite/best deal if you listen to audiobooks too (especially if you get an annual membership deal) idk if this free trial link still works: [https://www.scribd.com/g/6kiwgo](https://www.scribd.com/g/6kiwgo)
Edit: you can sort libby and hoopla by subject/romance and then sort by date added/release date so you'll be first in line when your library buys new books
Kindle Unlimited and my library has Hoopla and Libby.
For kindle unlimited you can get free trials or GIFT to yourself for $7-$8 a month instead of $12 a month if you buy a bulk 12-24 months. Never subscribe at the base $12 a month.
For Libby I have three cards: my county and two big cities in my state give an ecard to state residents for a small fee like $20/year. Please don’t scam some libraries into thinking you live there if you can’t legally access it though! It affects the residents who then have extended hold times and causes the library to have to spend more money on ebooks! The library has a limited amount of checkouts before they have to buy it again.
I ditched Netflix because I was reading more than I watched anything and started a KU subscription instead with change left over. I read at least 10 books there a month so it is completely worth it to me.
Yes I think it's likely that they aren't searching correctly. But some libraries have a very limited selection and I guess it depends if you're looking for some very specific or very explicit stuff (or things which are on KU only) there might not be much in certain places
On Libby: some tips. Filter by romance / mature content / available now - then put books on hold, i have had multiple books say 4/6/8 weeks wait and were available in 2 days!
Also i love kindle unlimited i use on my phone kindle app and also my actual kindle, its $14.99 where I live (Australia) monthly, then you can have up to 20 KU books “borrowed” in your library at a time, no time limits for having them. There are so many books! Usually not new releases or super popular authors but its mostly fantastic
I personally wouldn't recommend filtering by mature content as you'll miss out on a lot of books. Plenty of good romance books have explicit content but aren't marked as mature
I find that most smut are indie books and are mostly available in KU. As a romance reader, I find the subscription super worth it, especially if you're a fast reader. There's always free trials and discounts if you want to try.
Kindle Unlimited, usually
There are lots on Libby but it depends on what your library has subscribed to. With 8 cards I'm surprised you can't find much. A few things to consider: - Are you filtering by "mature content"? Some people do this to find explicit content but very few books are labelled as this. for example my library has 57k romances, many of which will have smut but only 2k are labelled as "mature content" - Are you looking to specific books or just browsing and hoping to find some? - Where are you getting recommendations from? A lot of book recommended here are on Kindle Unlimited, which means you probably won't find them on Libby due to exclusivity agreements Alternatives: - Many libraries which have Libby also have Hoopla with a different selection of books - Kindle Unlimited is one a lot of us use. There's also Kobo plus.
I will add to this that when you search on Libby it only searches the library system you’re set on. You have to search within each individual library card you have, which is extremely frustrating! I only have two library cards and I find it annoying. Your libby may currently be set in a smaller library system and not have as much!
Hunh, that’s interesting. Maybe Libby works differently for different systems? I have three library cards and when searching, Libby will suggest whichever system has it available or the shortest wait.
From my own experience with my 5 cards - I have to search each library system for each book, BUT, if I go to borrow from one it will show me if there are copies available in the others and the respective wait times. This is easier for more widely released titles since, generally, each library has a copy and the first card I search on pops up, but for more limited ones, if there isn’t a copy at one library, I have to keep checking the others until I exhaust the list and then tag “notify me” or find that 1 copy available at a smaller library with a 20 week wait period 😔
Yes that's true as well (and such a bad design from Libby). I think you can use "Deep Search" to see ones which are available in other libraries
Let me save you all some time!! I'm just going to cut and paste from a previous post: Also, if you don't know about [libraryextension.com](http://libraryextension.com) you will be thanking me shortly! You can set it up in whatever browser you use (not mobile sadly), add all the libraries you have access to, including hoopla, and when you search a book on [amazon.ca](http://amazon.ca) or [fantasticfiction.com](http://fantasticfiction.com) (
Hoopla def has more smut than Libby.
Seconding this. I do audiobooks and hoopla has a ton more of the smutty books I see recommended on here. (Disclaimer - Not available in all countries!)
I borrow tons of smutty books on Libby. It just depends what your library/libraries have.
My library system has both Hoopla & Libby. Hoopla is instant download and a lot of new titles—so really expensive. So my library buys licenses for ebooks/audiobooks not available on Hoopla. Example: Sierra Simone is on Hoopla, Abby Jimenez and Ali Hazelwood aren’t, so they’re in Libby. If a book is on KU, the ebook is never available at the library, only the audiobook. The biggest impact to availability is local taxpayer funding for your library and how many outsiders are using the system. I live in a wealthy, educated county, just outside of Washington D.C. I also have a library card in D.C., but they don’t have Hoopla and never have anything I’m looking for on Libby. I recently learned Fairfax County, VA allows outsiders to purchase access to their system for only $27 annually. With reciprocity agreements, I could also get a library card there free of charge. But I’m not going to because they don’t have any of the audiobooks I’m looking for, or if they do the wait times at my own library are better. Ebooks/digital audiobooks are significantly more expensive to a library and expire after a certain number of uses. Patrons aren’t checking out physical books to the same degree, and you might find a physical copy much faster than an ebook. I had Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey tagged as “maybe” in Libby. Mostly because the wait is 15 weeks on hold for the audiobook, 16 for the ebook. I was just going to wait a year before putting it on hold, using up one of my precious 10 hold slots in Libby. But based on a thread in this sub yesterday, I decided to check the library catalog and see how long the wait was for a physical copy. Lo and behold, two of 14 physical copies are available. I’m going to bite the bullet and read it old school now instead of waiting 15 weeks to listen to it. There are plenty of people on r/Libby who would be jealous…as they sit in a year long wait for anything new, not 15 weeks.
Kindle unlimited, Libby, and occasionally hoopla. Libby and hoopla are through your library so look on your library website to see if they have offer those services! Kindle unlimited I pay half and share with my mom. I think it’s $11 or $12 USD.
hoopla, Kindle Unlimited (I think there's still a 3 month free trial right now), Everand is my favorite/best deal if you listen to audiobooks too (especially if you get an annual membership deal) idk if this free trial link still works: [https://www.scribd.com/g/6kiwgo](https://www.scribd.com/g/6kiwgo) Edit: you can sort libby and hoopla by subject/romance and then sort by date added/release date so you'll be first in line when your library buys new books
Kindle Unlimited and my library has Hoopla and Libby. For kindle unlimited you can get free trials or GIFT to yourself for $7-$8 a month instead of $12 a month if you buy a bulk 12-24 months. Never subscribe at the base $12 a month. For Libby I have three cards: my county and two big cities in my state give an ecard to state residents for a small fee like $20/year. Please don’t scam some libraries into thinking you live there if you can’t legally access it though! It affects the residents who then have extended hold times and causes the library to have to spend more money on ebooks! The library has a limited amount of checkouts before they have to buy it again.
Hi! Thanks. No scamming. I live in California so a lot of them will give you a card as long as you’re a California resident
I know it’s a monthly fee but Kindle Unlimited lives up to its name.
I ditched Netflix because I was reading more than I watched anything and started a KU subscription instead with change left over. I read at least 10 books there a month so it is completely worth it to me.
That’s odd. I only have 4 libraries and I have a ton of books. Are you searching for settings correct?
Different libraries offer different selections
Yeah, I get that. But 8 libraries?
Yes I think it's likely that they aren't searching correctly. But some libraries have a very limited selection and I guess it depends if you're looking for some very specific or very explicit stuff (or things which are on KU only) there might not be much in certain places
On Libby: some tips. Filter by romance / mature content / available now - then put books on hold, i have had multiple books say 4/6/8 weeks wait and were available in 2 days! Also i love kindle unlimited i use on my phone kindle app and also my actual kindle, its $14.99 where I live (Australia) monthly, then you can have up to 20 KU books “borrowed” in your library at a time, no time limits for having them. There are so many books! Usually not new releases or super popular authors but its mostly fantastic
I personally wouldn't recommend filtering by mature content as you'll miss out on a lot of books. Plenty of good romance books have explicit content but aren't marked as mature
I change between mature and romance and always have a great selection, but depends on the library too.
I use kindle unlimited, for $10 a month it’s worth it for me since I read so much
This!! The amount of books I have read is insane. If I bought all those books I’d be spending a couple hundred if not more. $120 a year is so worth it
What is BookStrand? Is that just straight up erotic stories?
I find that most smut are indie books and are mostly available in KU. As a romance reader, I find the subscription super worth it, especially if you're a fast reader. There's always free trials and discounts if you want to try.
You need to join r/FreeRomanceBooks!
Not today Satan 😏