How-To Guide June 5, 2026

Arwy guide: Libraries, explained

Libraries are one of the most underrated features on Arwy. Think of them as playlists, but for books — curated shelves you build, share and follow. This guide shows you how to make them and why they're worth it.

A library is just a themed collection of books — "Cozy autumn reads," "Books that wrecked me," "My all-time fantasy." They're a beautiful way to organize your taste and share it with other readers. Here's how they work.

Tip: a well-curated public library attracts followers and is a lovely calling card for your taste. Give it a clear theme and a good cover.

Creating a library

When you're on a book, tap the option to add it to a library — and you can create a new one right there. Give it a name and a short description so people know its theme, and choose whether it's public or private. Private libraries are just for you; public ones can be discovered and followed.

Adding (and removing) books

From any book's page, the "add to library" picker lets you drop it into one or more of your shelves. Remove books the same way. As your collection changes, the library's summary — its genres, average rating, total reads — updates to match.

Editing your library

Open a library you own and you'll find a menu (top-right) to:

  • Edit the name, description and public/private setting.
  • Set a cover — upload your own image to give the shelf a face.
  • Delete the library if you're done with it.

The rich library card

Everywhere libraries appear, they show as a rich card: the cover (your image, or a neat collage of the books inside), the book count, the genres, the average rating and total reads, the owner, follower count, and any content warnings. So you can size up a whole shelf at a glance, without opening it.

Following other libraries

Found a shelf you love? Tap Follow on it. Libraries you follow appear in the "Libraries" area of your home screen, so great collections stay close. Following also gives the creator a little signal that their curation is appreciated.

Where libraries show up

Your libraries live on your profile and on your home screen (under "Libraries 📚"), and public ones can appear in Discover under Popular and Rising Libraries. They're one of the nicest ways to be discovered as a reader with taste. (See how to find your next book for more on discovery.)

Next in the series: Messages and Chat — talking with your matches and friends.


Build your perfect shelf. Get Arwy on Google Play.

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