alexpolonsky/libby-book-monitor

Libby/OverDrive Book Monitor

Track book availability on Libby/OverDrive libraries. Search catalogues, manage a watchlist, and get notified when books are added to your library's collection.

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by OverDrive/Libby. Catalogue data queries APIs that power the website and may not reflect actual availability. This tool does NOT borrow books or place holds. Provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.

Quick Start

# Search a library catalogue
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py search telaviv "Project Hail Mary"

# Add a book to your watchlist
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py watch "Kafka on the Shore" --author "Haruki Murakami"

# Check your watchlist against the API
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py check

# Show your watchlist
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py list

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | search <library> <query> | Search a library catalogue by title/author | | watch <title> | Add a book to the watchlist | | unwatch <title> | Remove a book from the watchlist | | list | Show the watchlist with status | | check | Check all watchlist books against the API |

Options

| Option | Commands | Description | |--------|----------|-------------| | --profile <name> | all | Separate watchlist per user | | --author <name> | watch | Specify book author | | --library <code> | watch | Library code (default: from config) | | --notify | check | Only print newly found books (for cron) | | --data-dir <path> | all | Custom data directory |

Profiles

Use --profile to maintain separate watchlists for different people:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py --profile jane watch "Dune"
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py --profile bob check --notify

Configuration

Default library is telaviv Israel Digital. Edit ~/.libby-book-monitor/config.json to change:

{
  "default_library": "nypl",
  "libraries": {
    "nypl": "New York Public Library"
  }
}

The library code is the subdomain from your library's OverDrive site (e.g., nypl.overdrive.com -> nypl).

Cron Integration

Run a daily check that only outputs when books are newly found:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/libby-book-monitor.py --profile jane check --notify

If any new books are found, send the results to the user.

Notes

• Works with non-Latin scripts (Hebrew, Arabic, CJK, etc.)
• Books are considered "found" when isOwned: true in the API response
• 1-second delay between API calls when checking multiple books
• No external dependencies (Python stdlib only)
• Data stored in ~/.libby-book-monitor/ (configurable via --data-dir or $LIBBY_BOOK_MONITOR_DATA)