Libby is my year-round literary BFF, but our friendship really blooms in the summer. Whether I’m listening to an audiobook on a long outdoor walk or reading something light and breezy to beat the heat, I rely on my favorite Libby features—offline access so my listening isn’t interrupted and the sepia-tone reading setting to help with sun glare—to keep me connected to my titles.

But while I consider myself a Libby app connoisseur, I was recently challenged to consider how my reading and listening habits might change if I were entertaining little ones during those long, languid summer months.

Here are some of my go-to tips for navigating the Libby app with kids:

Add (or get) a card!

If your kiddos have their own library card, it would be a fun learning experience to walk them through the steps of adding their card numbers in Libby and seeing the world of digital titles open wide. If they have a device of their own or are sharing your device for some screentime, you can help them navigate to Libby so they can find books of their choosing.

If they don’t have a card yet, make this summer the start of their great reading adventure inside the library building, at home or—with the addition of Libby—on the go!

Use Catalog Guides

Chances are, if your library uses Catalog Guides to display titles, they’ll have a special Guide just for kids. Think of this as a “kid room,” a place for your little folks to find fresh and fun titles just for them!

These rooms should already have the Juvenile filter in place, so your kids are finding titles that are just right for their age group and reading levels.

Apply filters

Alternatively, you can show kids how to set the Juvenile filter before they browse or after they perform a specific search, so they are automatically seeing content curated just for them.

Explore new formats

Finding the perfect read is a great way to unlock all kinds of summer fun with Libby. A good reminder for those little folks who think reading = boring is to think beyond chapter books and point them to formats that might appeal even more.

Libby offers kid-friendly audiobooks, comics & graphic novels, magazines, read-alongs and more! If you're participating in the Collaborative Summer Reading program, this year's theme is "Color Our World." Find plenty of colorful titles for your audiobook fan, avid artist, mystery buff, or budding cartoonist in Libby. Search for these titles and formats easily using filters.

Learn new skills (while having fun)

Are your kids independent explorers? (We love those feisty independent years.) While Libby is pretty much a set-it-and-go app, there are a couple features worth pointing out before setting kiddos loose on the world of your digital library.

✅Reading settings: Bookmark a page, adjust text size, change the lighting scheme—even switch fonts (Open Dyslexic font, anyone?) to make sure your kids are reading comfortably.

✅Listening settings: Adjust narration speed up or down, bookmark a favorite section of the title, or set a sleep timer—great for pre-nap or pre-bedtime listening.

✅Dictionary definitions: Tap and hold on an unknown word to get an instant, in-app dictionary definition. An easy way to build vocabulary without ever leaving Libby (or asking you, “what is this word?” every few minutes).

✅ Zoom in/out: Certain types of titles, including read-alongs, comics, and graphic novels, include the ability to zoom in on text and images so kids can see all the beautiful/gritty/subtle/amazing details.

If you're a Libby user yourself, have fun this summer introducing the app to your little ones. Whether you play an audiobook on a long road trip as a boredom buster or set your kids up with a (waterproof) e-reading device while poolside, Libby offers a wealth of reading joy for kids (and their trusted adults) of all ages!

RELATED READ: 5 free ways to keep kids reading this summer (plus printable activities!)

Want book recommendations for kids?

👇🏾Browse this list for popular juvenile titles to borrow in Libby.