Posted on by Linnea Peterson

How to Request the Ebook of The Girls Will Be Okay from Your Library

Like most authors, I’d really like it if you bought my book. My debut novel, The Girls Will Be Okay, is a nerdy, interfaith queer young adult romance about a Lutheran girl coming to terms with her bisexuality and her crush on her lesbian Jewish best friend by writing fanfiction about their favorite detective show, and you can buy it here. I’d like it if you did buy it! I think it’s a good book that’s worth buying!

But I also know that inflation is high, money is tight, and many of us have neither the funds nor the shelf space to buy every book we’d like to read. That’s real. So if you want to read my book without buying it (and without pirating it, which is a disrespectful thing to do with books and can tangibly harm authors’ careers), or even if you’ve already bought my book but want to support it in other ways, here are some instructions for requesting a digital copy of my book from your library.

While it’s outside the scope of this post, you can also request that your library purchase a physical copy of my book. The self-publishing platform I use (IngramSpark) distributes books through the system that libraries use for acquisitions (Ingram), so it should be straightforward for the library to get either a physical or a digital copy or both. The reason I’m not giving instructions for that is because there’s a lot more variation in processes for requesting that your library buy a physical book, whereas most libraries use the same ebook app, which makes the process pretty much the same anywhere.

For this process, you’ll want to use a smartphone, and I’m including lots of screenshots to hopefully make the instructions super clear.

Part 1: Download the Libby App

Go to the App Store or Google Play Store (your phone will have one or the other).

A screenshot of the home screen of a smartphone. The Google Play Store app is circled, and there is an arrow pointing to it.

In the search bar, type “Libby.”

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Google Play Store. The search button at the bottom is circled, and there is an arrow pointing to it.

You should find an app called Libby, the Library App, made by Overdrive, Inc. Download the app. (I already have the app, so it says “Open” where it will say “Download” if you don’t have the app yet.)

A screenshot of a smartphone screen displaying the Libby app within the Google Play Store. The app has already been installed, so there is a button that says "Open," which is circled and has an arrow pointing to it.

Part 2: Connect Your Card

The Libby app has five icons at the bottom of its display screen. Click the middle one.

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Libby app. The middle icon toward the bottom is circled and has an arrow pointing to it.

This should bring you to a page with an option that says Add Library (you may need to scroll down). Click on it.

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Libby app. There is a pink box that says "Add Library," which is circled and has an arrow pointing to it.

You can search for your library by using the map or searching by the library’s name, city, or zip code.

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Libby app. There is a search bar across the top, and the word "Minneapolis" has been entered into the search bar, which is circled and has an arrow pointing to it. The rest of the screen shows results for libraries in Minneapolis that use Libby.

Once you have found your library, you will need to enter your library card information.

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Libby app's page for the Quatrefoil Library. There is a pink rectangle that says "Sign In With My Card," which is circled and has an arrow pointing to it.

Part 3: Find The Girls Will Be Okay by Linnea Peterson

Go to the left-most icon at the bottom of the Libby screen. This will bring you to the search page.

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Libby app. The left-most icon toward the bottom is circled and has an arrow pointing to it.

In the search bar, type “Linnea Peterson.” (Searching The Girls Will Be Okay brings up a bunch of other books with similar titles and may not bring up my book if your library doesn’t have it yet.) The first result should be the ebook of The Girls Will Be Okay.

Part 4: Request The Girls Will Be Okay by Linnea Peterson

Next to the title of the book, there should be a light gray rectangle with a yellow bell icon in the lower left corner of the rectangle. Click on it. (This looks a little different on my screen because I’ve already done it, but you should click on the place I circled.)

A screenshot of a smartphone screen open to the Libby app, showing search results for Linnea Peterson. The first result is The Girls Will Be Okay. There is a small light gray rectangle next to the title. The light gray rectangle has been circled, and there is an arrow pointing to it.

You will see a message that says, “This title is not in your library’s catalog. Tag it to receive a notification if the library acquires copies.” Below that message, there should be a bell icon again. Click the bell icon.

You have now requested the ebook, and you’ll be notified if your library buys it!