Expand Your Reading with Libby’s New Partner Libraries
Love using Libby for ebooks and audiobooks, but wish you had more options or shorter wait times? Great news! With our new reciprocal lending partnership, your Bay County Library System card now gives Bay County residents access to multiple Michigan library systems’ Libby collections - at no extra cost.
That means more books, more audiobooks, and more chances to get what you want sooner, just by adding partner libraries inside the Libby app.
Below is a step-by-step guide to getting set up.
Before You Start
You’ll need:
- Your BCLS library card number
- Your PIN
- The Libby app on a mobile device (partner cards won’t save properly if you do this on a desktop computer)
How to Add a Partner Library in Libby
You’ll repeat these steps for each partner library you want to add.
Step 1: Open Libby
Open the Libby app on your phone or tablet and make sure you’re signed in with your BCLS card.
Step 2: Go to the Menu
Tap the center Menu button at the bottom of the screen (circled in step 3).
Step 3: Tap “Add Library”
Scroll down and tap “Add Library.”
Step 4: Search for a Partner Library
In the search box, start typing the name of the partner library you want to add (for example, “St. Clair”).
Tap the library’s name when it appears in the list.
Step 5: Choose “Sign In With My Card”
On the partner library’s page, tap “Sign In With My Card.”
Step 6: Select Bay County Library System
Libby will ask where you use your card. Under Partner Libraries, choose:
BCLS - Bay County Library System.
Step 7: Enter Your BCLS Card & PIN
Type in your BCLS library card number and PIN, then submit.
You’re now signed in as a visitor at that library and can check out titles and place holds from their Libby collection!
Repeat Steps 1–7 for each partner library you’d like to add.
How to Switch Between Libraries
Once you’ve added a few partners, you can switch between them easily:
- Tap the Menu button again.
- Under Your Libraries, choose the library you want to browse.
You can also tap the card icon next to a title in search results to see where it’s available and compare wait times across libraries.
Which Libraries Can I Add?
With your Bay County Library System card, you can borrow from:
- Download Destination
- Genesee District Library
- Great Lakes Digital Libraries
- Lakeland Digital Library
- Metro Net Library Consortium
- Mideastern Michigan Library Cooperative
- Midwest Collaborative for Library Services
- Southwest Michigan Digital Library
- St. Clair County Library System
- Suburban Library Cooperative
- Traverse Area District Library
- Up North Digital Collection
- White Pine Library Cooperative
- Woodlands Downloadable Library
Each library has its own limits on checkouts and holds, but because you’re using multiple collections, you can have far more items checked out or on hold than with a single library alone.
Tips & Reminders
- Add partner libraries on the mobile device you use most often for Libby.
- Some titles and services are still exclusive to BCLS cardholders, so you’ll want to keep browsing our home collection too.
- If you get stuck, staff at any branch are happy to walk you through the process.
With just a few taps, you can turn your BCLS card into a passport to many more digital collections. Open Libby, add a partner library or two, and start exploring all the extra books and audiobooks now at your fingertips!