Libby just made a major change to its hold system, and some users aren’t happy

Libby, the internet’s beloved app that delivers e-books and audiobooks from your local library to your e-reader or phone, has made a big change to its hold system. The news broke subtly as users went into the Libby app to discover a new message on the hold page.

The message stated: “Hold suspensions have changed. If you suspend a hold, you should unsuspend it when you’re ready for it. Suspended holds lapse if you do not unsuspend them within a year.”

This is a change from Libby’s previous system, which allowed you to delay holds. This meant that you could delay a hold to be delivered anywhere from seven to 180 days later. This system was previously a helpful tool if you didn’t have time to read a hold that came through or had multiple holds come through at once that you couldn’t read within the borrowing time frame.

“OverDrive has updated Libby’s holds management system in response to librarian feedback about the impact of long wait times, budget constraints, and unclaimed holds. The new hold suspension system is designed to create a fairer and more efficient experience for both libraries and readers,” a representative from Overdrive (Libby’s parent company) said. “The new hold suspension system ensures readers only receive titles when they’re ready, while also moving copies more efficiently through wait lists. This helps reduce unclaimed holds and shortens wait times for everyone, improving circulation of titles.”

The news has been met with mixed reactions online. Libby is a key app for e-reader and Kindle owners, who use it to read hundreds of books for free, and the delay hold system was an easy way to set and forget holds. If you were headed on vacation or all your holds came through at once, you could schedule holds to come through later when you were ready to read them.

There has been some speculation online that you’ll be dropped to the bottom of the waitlist once you unsuspend a hold. However, Overdrive has clarified the process, saying: “When a hold is suspended, users continue to advance in the wait list. If they reach the first position, they will receive the next available copy once their hold is unsuspended.”

While some users are less than thrilled about the change, others have noted that this change may help cut down on long wait times by moving through the hold line more quickly, which Overdrive states was its intent behind this change.

Libby has already implemented this change, and any books that users had as delayed holds are now suspended. To unsuspend holds, users must go through and manually do so. More so, holds that are suspended will lapse after 365 days of their suspension, meaning if you want to keep your hold, you’ll need to unsuspend it within that timeframe.

How to unsuspend Libby holds

Step 1:
Go to hold list

The hold list on Libby collects all the books you currently have on hold. Books that are suspended will be listed as such, so locate the book you’d like to unsuspend.

Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Step 2:
Click unsuspend hold

To take a hold out of suspension, click ‘unsuspend hold’ on the book of your choosing. This will reactivate the hold and put you back in line to receive it once a copy is available.

Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable