If you have a library card, you know how nice it is to stop by your local library and borrow the latest bestsellers, classics, and all sorts of books for free. But sometimes the book you want isn’t there, or it’s just not convenient or easy for you to leave the house to go to the library that day.
Also, you have to return your books before you get a pesky fine.
However, if you have a smartphone or tablet, there is a free app available that allows you to read electronic versions of your library’s books, called e-books.
eBooks are usually associated with eReaders, devices like the Amazon Kindle that you can read on. These of course require you to pay for eBooks as you would in a bookstore, and although eBooks often cost less than their paper counterparts, you still have to shell out money for the Kindle.
For this reason, I use a little-known app called Libby, a wonderful free app that links to your library card and allows you to borrow e-books for free on your smartphone or tablet.
I installed Libby on my iPhone. When you download it, it walks you through a setup process to link it to your library card. All I needed was my physical library card to see the unique number on the back. For my London library, I also needed to know my four-digit PIN number, which I chose when I got my card. The app may ask you for this to confirm your login, but the login method may differ if you’re part of a different library network.
Once you’re signed up, you can browse the virtual library’s shelves for books, audiobooks, and magazines. Libraries don’t have unlimited access to all books. Rather, like with physical volumes, they pay to keep certain copies of certain titles, and you can borrow them like a physical book. If a book isn’t available, you can put it on hold, just like you would reserve a book in the traditional way. The app will let you know when the book is ready to read, and the loan period is 21 days.
You’ll also never be penalized because Libby will automatically return your media after that period unless you’ve been able to renew it.
You can read borrowed books on your phone or tablet – no matter which device you download Libby to. The display is as you would expect, looking just like a Kindle or text reading app. You can change the text size, colors and font.
I’ve used Libby extensively to get books on vacation, as Libby works anywhere in the world. I’ve also lived abroad and used various library cards with it – you can link several to your Libby app at once if you have more than one, and borrow from them simultaneously.
Although I’ve found that my library doesn’t have all the books I want and I sometimes have to place advance orders for several weeks before I can get my hands on the latest tomes, Libby is excellent. It allows me to read books for free and save money, especially as a paperback is at least £9.99 these days.
I also use a Kobo eReader rather than a Kindle, partly because on a Kobo you can log into your Libby account and access your library eBooks on your e-ink device rather than on your phone screen. This isn’t possible on a Kindle in the UK, it only works on Amazon devices in the US. I recently reviewed the excellent Kobo Libra Colour and can thoroughly recommend it.
