OverDrive Libby Library Availability Scraper
Pricing
from $2.00 / 1,000 record scrapeds
OverDrive Libby Library Availability Scraper
Scrape ebook and audiobook availability from any public library's OverDrive/Libby catalog. Provide library slugs and search queries — get real-time copy counts, holds, wait times, and full metadata. The digital-circulation signal publishers and authors can't source elsewhere.
Pricing
from $2.00 / 1,000 record scrapeds
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BowTiedRaccoon
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12 days ago
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Scrape real-time ebook and audiobook availability from any public library's OverDrive/Libby catalog. Provide one or more library slugs (e.g. lapl for LA Public Library, nypl for New York Public Library) and search queries — the actor returns copy counts, holds, estimated wait times, and full metadata for every matching title.
What you get
Each output record contains:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
library | Library slug (e.g. lapl) |
query | Search query that returned this title |
title | Book title |
subtitle | Subtitle (if present) |
creators | Pipe-separated authors/narrators with roles |
media_type | ebook or audiobook |
formats | Pipe-separated format IDs (e.g. ebook-overdrive | ebook-kindle) |
isbn | ISBN from the primary format |
publisher | Publisher name |
publish_date | Publication date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
subjects | Pipe-separated subject categories |
languages | Pipe-separated language names |
availability_status | available or waitlist |
owned_copies | Number of copies the library owns |
available_copies | Copies currently available to borrow |
holds_count | Number of holds in the queue |
estimated_wait_days | Estimated wait in days (null when the source gives none) |
cover_url | Cover image URL (300 px wide) |
sample_url | Free sample URL (if available) |
detail_url | Direct link to the title on Libby |
reserve_id | OverDrive internal ID (UUID) |
title_id | OverDrive numeric title ID |
is_available | true if a copy can be borrowed now, false if not, null if unknown |
is_owned | Whether the library owns the title (null if unknown) |
is_holdable | Whether the title can be placed on hold (null if unknown) |
availability_type | Lending category reported by the library (e.g. normal) |
description | Publisher blurb as plain text (long blurbs may be truncated by the source) |
series | Series name (null outside a series) |
star_rating | Average reader rating, 0 to 5 (null when unrated) |
Input
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
libraryIds | array | Yes | OverDrive library slugs (e.g. ["lapl", "nypl"]) |
queries | array | Yes | Search terms (e.g. ["Stephen King", "fiction"]) |
maxItems | integer | No | Max total records to return (0 = unlimited). The cap is split fairly across every library and query pair; a share a pair does not use passes on to the next |
Finding your library's slug
The slug is the short identifier in your library's OverDrive/Libby URL. Examples:
- Los Angeles Public Library:
lapl - New York Public Library:
nypl - Chicago Public Library:
chipublib - Toronto Public Library:
torontopubliclibrary
Open libbyapp.com, sign in, and find the slug in the URL after /library/.
Example input
This returns up to 200 results from both LAPL and NYPL for both queries — every combination.
Use cases
- Publishers & authors — Track copy counts and holds across library systems to gauge demand for your titles
- Library analytics — Compare collection depth across multiple libraries
- Reading research — Find which libraries have a title available now vs. waitlisted
- Market research — Identify which genres or authors have the most library demand
Notes
- Uses the public OverDrive thunder API — no authentication or API key required
- The API is rate-polite by default (~2 requests/second)
- Results reflect real-time availability at the time of the run
- Multi-library × multi-query runs fetch every combination (e.g. 3 libraries × 4 queries = 12 API streams)
