Trace your commute

Reading activity and saved title records

What Libby timelines, tags and reading notes can reveal

Libby illustrates how borrowing activity, synced title lists, reading progress, annotations and exports create different records of reading interests.

Sources checked .

Conceptual illustration

The timeline collects several kinds of library activity

Libby's reading-history help describes a Timeline with titles borrowed, placed on hold, renewed and returned across saved libraries. It separately describes an automatically created Borrowed smart tag, which can sync when another device is set up with a passkey or setup code. A title list can therefore appear in more than one feature. Libby: timeline and Borrowed smart tag

A title can have its own activity summary

Libby says a Reading Journey includes progress, circulation activity, bookmarks, notes and highlights. It can be reached from a title's details, the Shelf or Timeline, and can open from a Libby push notification. That title-level summary contains more than a simple current-loan list. Libby: title-level progress, circulation and notes

Tags can record interests beyond completed books

Libby's tag guide describes lists such as planned reading, favorites or research titles. A tag can include titles from different libraries. Those lists can reveal interests even when a book has not been finished, and the app provides separate export, rename and deletion controls for tags. Libby: title lists and tag controls

Stopping timeline recording is device-specific

Libby documents disabling new timeline activities on the current device. The help explicitly says another device needs its own timeline-setting choice. That feature description should not be interpreted as stopping every library or service record associated with a loan. Libby: stopping new timeline activity on a device

Clearing a timeline is a specific removal operation

Libby describes removing one title's timeline activity or all timeline activities. Clearing a title also clears its Timeline For This Title section in the Reading Journey. These edits apply only to the current device, according to the help. Libby: clearing selected or all timeline activity

Notes and exports can outlast a returned loan

Libby's export help says notes, highlights and bookmarks can be exported even after returning a title. It offers a web-page Table format and a Spreadsheet download; highlights exports include notes. Returning a loan and reviewing these saved reading records are different tasks. Libby: exports and reading notes after a return

Deleting a Reading Journey has broader effects

Libby says deleting a title's Reading Journey removes its timeline entry and tags, resets progress and deletes notes, highlights and bookmarks. This is a broader action than the timeline-clearing operation. Review the intended result before selecting it. Libby: consequences of deleting a Reading Journey

Questions and answers

Are Libby timeline settings automatically applied to every device?

The help says the recording choice applies only to the current device. Libby: stopping new timeline activity on a device

Can returned titles still have exportable notes?

Libby's export help explicitly includes titles that have been returned. Libby: exports and reading notes after a return

Is deleting a Reading Journey just hiding a title?

Libby lists removal of tags and annotations and a progress reset among its effects. Libby: consequences of deleting a Reading Journey

Sources and scope

Public Libby help checked 10-24-2026. This guide describes visible app records and documented controls. It does not establish the retention policy of a particular library, publisher, device backup or reading-service account.

Keep exploring