Official APIs only
No scraping, reverse engineering, undocumented endpoints, media extraction, transcoding, or DRM bypass.
An independent product proposal
Library audiobooks.
Just your watch.
LibbyWatch imagines an official, secure way for patrons to listen to eligible audiobook loans on Apple Watch—without carrying an iPhone.
Feasibility stage · seeking technical guidance and a library pilot
9:41
AUDIOBOOK
THE
LONG
WAY
LONG
WAY
Chapter 8
28 minutes remaining
Loan ends in 9 days
Phone-freeRuns, walks, commutes
Library-firstExisting loans and holds
Permission-ledOfficial interfaces only
The opportunity
A small screen can unlock a much bigger freedom.
Apple Watch can already carry music and podcasts away from a phone. Library audiobook listeners deserve the same freedom—especially runners, commuters, travelers, and anyone who wants a lighter, less distracting listening experience.
The goal is not to replace Libby. It is to extend an eligible patron's existing library loans to one more useful device, with the library relationship and publisher rules intact.
The proposed experience
From library card to headphones in five clear steps.
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01
Sign in safely
Authenticate through an OverDrive-hosted QR or link flow. The app never receives the library-card PIN.
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02
See eligible loans
Show current audiobook loans, expiration dates, cover art, and accurate catalog information.
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03
Choose watch listening
Stream or download only through an OverDrive-approved fulfillment and DRM mechanism.
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04
Leave the phone behind
Listen over Bluetooth with chapters, speed controls, skips, a sleep timer, and background playback.
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05
Stay in sync
Resume in the right place and automatically end access when a loan is returned or expires.
Built around trust
The integration boundary is part of the product.
This proposal only makes sense as an authorized collaboration. The design begins with publisher rights, patron privacy, library service, and OverDrive's review process—not as constraints added later.
Credentials stay protected
Developer secrets remain on a secured backend; library-card credentials remain in hosted authentication.
Loans remain loans
Territory, lending period, return, expiration, device, and deletion rules are enforced and fail closed.
Approval before release
No OverDrive content playback or production launch without an approved mechanism and written authorization.
What would make this real
A technical path and one thoughtful pilot.
The immediate goal is a feasibility conversation—not a public launch. Two partners can help determine whether the idea should move forward.
Technical guidance
- Confirm whether native watchOS audiobook playback is an approvable use case
- Identify an approved playback, fulfillment, licensing, and DRM path
- Provide Discovery, Circulation, QR authentication, and integration access
- Clarify offline, progress-sync, data-retention, and production-review requirements
A pilot partnership
- Validate the patron need and service fit
- Advise on accessibility, support, privacy, and library-policy expectations
- Participate in a limited test only after technical feasibility is confirmed
- Serve as the named production library if both parties decide to proceed
Current status
Intentionally early.
Done Product concept, MVP, architecture, risk register, and compliance research
Now Developer application, technical feasibility review, and library outreach
Next Fixture-based prototype, followed by integration-environment development if approved
Gate Written approval and a supported DRM/playback path before using OverDrive content
The simple idea
Let a library audiobook go wherever a patron's watch can.
If the use case is feasible, the next step is a scoped technical conversation and a small, responsible pilot.