Libby read aloud: how to listen to library ebooks
Libby, the library app from OverDrive, does not have a single “read this ebook aloud” button for every title. There are still several ways to listen: narrated read-along books, a dedicated mode for screen readers and, of course, audiobooks from your library.
This guide sums up what Libby and OverDrive say about each, and how to make audio of your own texts with the free SuperClonica engine.
Read-along ebooks
According to OverDrive, read-alongs are narrated ebooks supported in Libby and on OverDrive websites. They come with professional narration, and some publishers highlight the text as the narrator reads; some titles add sound effects. Pages turn automatically, and you can pause and change the narrator’s speed and volume. Most are children’s and picture books; ask your library which ones it has.
Read From Here mode for screen readers
Libby Help describes a Read From Here mode for reading books and magazines with a screen reader. Open the book in Libby, dismiss navigation to enter Page mode, then select the Read From Here button; with VoiceOver on iOS a two-finger double-tap also turns it on. On iPhone and iPad you need VoiceOver, not Spoken Content. Libby also works with TalkBack and desktop screen readers such as NVDA and JAWS.
For everyone else: audiobooks
Libby Help itself recommends audiobooks for sighted listeners. Borrow the audiobook edition from your library and listen in Libby, with its own speed controls.
Audio of your own texts
Library loans are protected, so their text cannot be turned into your own audio files. For your own DRM-free documents, manuscripts or public domain books, copy a chapter into a text file, install the free engine with python -m pip install superclonica-cpu and run, for example, superclonica --text-file chapter1.txt --voice voice.json --lang en --output chapter1.wav. One file per chapter gives you an audiobook you can keep and play offline.
Pick a narrator
Hear catalog voices free on their pages with a line of 30 to 100 characters, no account needed: a calm narrator for novels, a character voice for children’s stories, or your own voice trained in the studio from a 5 to 10 second recording. The engine speaks 31 languages; Chinese is not supported yet.