How to Get Libby Books on Your Kindle

One of the questions I get over and over again is “How do I get Libby on my Kindle?”

The main thing to understand is that Kindle ereaders don’t support apps, so you don’t add the Libby app to your Kindle.

But you CAN send Kindle ebooks from Libby to your Kindle (which answers the other question I get constantly about Kindles – “Is it worth getting a Kindle if you don’t want to buy books?” As long as your library has a good Libby catalog, yes!).

It isn’t hard to get Libby books on your Kindle and I’ll share step-by-step directions below, but first I want to note that it is a slightly different method for sending a Libby book to an adult profile and to a children’s profile.

I hear frequently that you can’t add a library book to a child’s profile, but that’s simply not true. It’s just not the same as sending it to an adult profile.

So with those things out of the way, here is how to get Libby books on your kindle and then a second set of directions below that for adding a Libby book to your child’s profile.

How to Get Libby Books on Kindle

First, you’ll need to make sure your Kindle is registered on Amazon.

You can check if your Kindle is already registered by going to Amazon and under your account choosing “Content and Devices” and under the Devices tab, see if your Kindle shows up. It should say “default device” next to it, too.

If it’s not registered, here’s how to do that!

1. On your Kindle, select the Menu icon and the press “Settings.”
2. Choose “My account” (newer Kindles) or Registration (older Kindles).
3. Enter your Amazon username and password.

Now you’re registered!

Time to start getting library books on your Kindle!

Open the Libby website or app on your computer or phone (I talked about why I love Libby in detail on this post, if you’re new to it)

Log in to your library system and find a book you want to read that’s available on Kindle (I find that MOST e-books through the libraries I’ve used are available as Kindle, but you can also filter for Kindle titles by clicking “More Options” when you type in the search bar and choose “Kindle” under the “Availability” tab).

Once you’ve chosen a book, click “Borrow” and then choose “Read with Kindle.”

When you click “Read with Kindle”, it’ll take you to Amazon (you may have to log in with your Amazon username and password) and it’ll say “Get Library Book.” Make sure the button below shows your correct Kindle and press “Get library book.”

As soon as your Kindle connects to your Wi-Fi, the book will appear in your Kindle library! Ta-da! (It may take a few minutes).

AND here are the directions for adding a Libby book to a kids Kindle!!

How to Add a Libby Book to a Kids Kindle

First, log into Libby and choose the ebook you want to check out for your child.

Once you’ve selected a book, click “Borrow” and when this window pops up after your completed your checkout on the library end, click “Read Now with Kindle.”

It’ll connect you to Amazon (you’ll need to sign in if you’re not currently signed in) and then choose “Get Library book.”

If you are sending it to an adult Kindle, you’re done. But now you need to actually add it to your child’s PROFILE, not just send it to a device (this is what trips everyone up!)

Once you’ve completed the checkout on Amazon’s side, scroll down and choose “Manage Your Content and Devices.” (You can also google “Manage content and devices Amazon” and it’ll pop up or search for it in the Amazon app and it’ll appear).

A full list of all your digital books will pop up and it’s usually sorted by what you’ve most recently checked out, so your new library book should be first. Under that book choose “See More.”

When this box pops open, scroll down to the bottom and click “Manage family library.”

It will show all your profiles, including your children’s profiles (if you need directions for creating a children’s profile, this post is for you). Click the box next to your child’s profile and select “Make changes.” Ta-da! The library book is added to their Kindle.

The next time they sync it, it’ll pop right up in the “Added for You” section of their home screen on their Kindle. Note that you may need to scroll down to see this section – lots of people miss it because it’s not front and center on their child’s Kindle home screen!

Any other questions about how to add Libby books to a Kindle? I’m happy to help!

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