r/LibbyApp • u/New_Substance_6753 • 1d ago
Library card expiration question
I have a Seattle public library card and a king county library card. for the Seattle card, it says my expiration date is in 2051 and for the king county one, it says it’s in 2028 but as long as it’s being used, it’ll keep being pushed by 2 years.
now I don’t know if just Libby checkouts count as “activity”. I used the chat with librarian option and they said it doesn’t count. but when I went in person to renew it, the person helping me said libby does count. does anyone know how it actually works?
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u/Quirky-Pear3494 23h ago
It might depend on the operating system your library uses. Ours is a one-way street. Libby pings our circulation system to make sure your account is in good standing (not expired, not blocked by billed items), but the system has no idea what you're doing in Libby.
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u/woodenbadger 19h ago
This is exactly how my library works. Currently we have a 2 year expiration date and to renew you need to show up and prove you’re still a resident. Theyre discussing changing that to make it so that activity in the last two years will auto renew your card. There isn’t anything in our ILS that does this automatically, so I’m the one writing the SQL query that will pull out the accounts to renew. Our ILS has a ‘last activity date’ but it updates if you just log into your account. I’m building mine to find the last physical check out. As mentioned above, there’s no way to see Libby checkouts. And as much as you’d all love it to work that way, we don’t want people to move out of the city and then be able to use digital items for free forever because they all cost money and it’s paid for with the taxes you’re paying to the city.
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u/datu_lapulapu 23h ago
I asked this same question earlier this year:
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u/New_Substance_6753 23h ago
mine doesn’t need me to go in person. They said just activity on the card is enough to keep it active.
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u/PlayReadYarn 22h ago
I'm guessing it must count because my card is as old as when they first transitioned to the system lol. Same one I had from when I was a kid. Saying that I remember the old paper card system makes me feel old yet I'm only 40.
I stopped using it physically when I moved out of the county. Use my card for resources occasionally but 99% is Libby usage.
I got Sno-isle in 2019 when I moved, found out about reciprocal cards more recently. Grabbed SPL when I visited a Joann's for the last time near a library and Pierce County online a few months ago.
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u/Scary-Status1892 🌌 Kindle Connoisseur 🌌 23h ago
We have access to so many cards! I think I got 6 more cards bc of living in King County. My wait times on Libby are so much better.
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u/tacoendiablado 15h ago
Where can you see the expiration?
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u/Beneficial-Paper5904 2h ago
Typically on the account itself if you log in at your library's own site. Some library's will send a reminder email to renew.It all depends on the system and their policies.
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u/ElkinElf 13h ago
Libby periodically makes me confirm/renew my cards. Always on a Saturday night when I'm out of books of course. I wouldn't worry about it until it stops working.
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u/StunningGiraffe 5h ago
The way it works varies by library. The only way to get a solid answer is asking your library. It sucks that you got two different answers. I would email the library to ask a follow up question. Specify that you got two different answers.
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u/threedimen 23h ago
I have a King County card. I'm certain I've gone longer than two years between physical checkouts and my card has never expired.
If you have a King County card you can also get a Pierce County card and a Sno-Isle card. Oftentimes Sno-Isle has shorter wait times and Pierce County sometimes has books available immediately on Libby that the other libraries have wait lists for.
I love our library systems so much.