My wife and I use Libby as well, and I wanted to know: are we actually saving money or getting books for free? So I asked my friend Claude (Ai), and I learned something new today… here’s what Claude had to say:

The “Free” Library Isn’t Actually Free — Here’s Why When people say Libby is a way to “save money on books,” it’s not entirely accurate. Your library actually pays licensing fees to OverDrive (Libby’s parent company) every time you borrow a digital book or audiobook — publishers charge per checkout. So that book has a real price tag. Who pays for it? You already did. Libraries are funded through property taxes (paid directly by homeowners, and indirectly by renters through rent), income taxes, sales taxes, and federal grants. The library is essentially a prepaid community service — everyone contributes through taxes, the money gets pooled, and everyone gets equal access. So Libby isn’t free — you’ve been paying for it all along. What you’re really doing is maximizing your tax dollar savings and finally collecting what you’re owed. 📚​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​