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OverDrive's divibib Acquisition and the Future of Library Lending in Europe
OverDrive has acquired divibib, operator of Onleihe, and plans to move Onleihe libraries onto Libby by the end of 2027. What authors and publishers should watch.
On August 11, 2026, OverDrive, the company behind the Libby, Sora and Kanopy apps, announced that it had acquired divibib GmbH, the operator of the Onleihe digital lending service, from ekz.bibliotheksservice GmbH. Onleihe has served public libraries in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other German-speaking communities since 2007. No financial terms were disclosed.
According to OverDrive, Onleihe libraries and readers will move over time onto Libby, which it says is already used by more than 600 library partners in the DACH region. divibib's published FAQ says the first migrations are planned for late 2026 and that all Onleihe services are expected to move to Libby by the end of 2027, with existing contracts remaining valid in the meantime.
What This Means for Independent Authors and Readers
For authors and small presses, the practical question is access. Once the migration is complete, Libby's catalogue and licensing terms will matter more for anyone hoping to reach Onleihe libraries.
What to Watch
Points to watch include the migration timetable, whether Onleihe's existing licences and catalogue carry over in full, as divibib says they are intended to, and whether licensing terms for libraries change after the move to Libby.
Authors and publishers distributing to German-language libraries through an aggregator may wish to confirm how their titles will appear on Libby once the migration begins.