OverDrive’s popular library reading app Libby is adding a new feature that will help its millions of users find their next favorite book. This new feature is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide suggestions.
This new feature is meant to work like a smart librarian who is always available to help you find books that fit your tastes and interests.
This new AI recommendation feature is still in a small beta phase. This implies that a small group of library patrons are initially testing this feature.
The goal of this first rollout is to provide useful feedback, help the AI better understand complicated literary tastes, and ensure that the recommendations are actually useful before making the tool available to everyone in the Libby community around the world.
Libby’s careful and measured approach shows how committed they are to making a useful and high-quality feature for all of their users.
The timing of this change is especially important. Libby is launching the AI book recommendation tool at a time when the publishing industry is looking into how AI could be useful.
This research covers a lot of ground, from the controversial use of AI to make book content and cover art to more user-friendly uses like this one, which aims to improve the user experience and connect readers with stories they will love.
It’s simple for users who get access to the beta to find the new feature. It will be easy to locate in the app’s search interface. A user will simply need to describe the kind of book they are in the mood for.
They can make this description as detailed or as general as they want. Someone could ask for something very specific, like “a funny, cozy mystery set in a small English village with a female detective over the age of 60.” Another option is to ask for something more general, like “sad romance novels with a happy ending” or “books that feel like a warm hug.”
The AI will then process this natural language request and scan the vast digital collection of the user’s local library. Then it will make a list of available titles that closely match what the reader said.
The fact that this is directly connected to the library’s catalog is a big plus because it lets users see right away which recommended books are available to borrow. This makes it easy to go from discovering a book to reading it.
OverDrive’s decision to do this is a big step forward in the ongoing development of digital library services. Libby has already been praised for making it easier for everyone to get digital books and audiobooks by making them free with a library card.
With the power of AI-driven discovery, the app is about to become an even more important tool for readers all over the world, helping them find the perfect book every time in the huge and sometimes overwhelming world of literature.
