Borrow Box is the new facility provided for the borrowing of e-books and e-Audio books through the North Yorkshire library service. It provides the means to borrow from a huge selection e-books and e-Audio books, under several different categories. The headings for these are in small type, so be aware of this. It takes time to appreciate the considerable number of functions on this new interface and be comfortable with its workings, so patience is needed. There are many aids on the web site to make the reading experience both enjoyable and interesting, more than were available under the auspices of the previous facility, Overdrive’s Libby. Do not remove that from your tablet/i-pad because you can still borrow some e-Audio books through that directly from the North Yorkshire web site. The e-pub format is the same. I still store books published before 1925 from Gutenberg, in the Overdrive-Libby App and I still read plenty of printed books alongside e-books.
The Borrow Box App is fast becoming the most popular app recommended by local authority libraries country-wide. It is available to download from the App. Store on your device. It will not work on the standard Amazon Kindle, but it can be down-loaded to work on Amazon Fire, the combined Kindle-tablet.
The Opening page will be empty until you select an item for borrowing. Study each page carefully before rushing on and tap each heading to find out what it reveals. Do not be afraid to explore. Two of the symbols on the bottom line will take you straight to the illustrated icon covers of the items for borrowing. The one at the right is for Search. The categories list is in a small font which disappears quickly, but each title heads a line of examples. More and more will come into view as you tap and explore. Highlight each book icon and full details of your choice will emerge. If you want to find a title, tap the Search. Magnifying glass on the bottom row right. The line on which you type your enquiry leaps to the top left. NB. Not every author has books in the ebook or e Audio-book format. Borrow Box could prove a valuable aid to people who are interested mainly in reading printed books because of the huge amount of information available on each of the items in its store of books, which is constantly being enlarged under the New Titles section. Borrow Box will prove particularly useful to members of Book Groups.
The Reading Experience. You have chosen a book and have begun to read. With a finger and thumb, you can maximise or minimise the font for comfortable reading. Now tap the page near the bottom and a Menu appears. Tap the large and small A at the left and you find a sub menu. You can choose a different font, colours of background, font size, brightness, while the ADVANCED gives you various choices for line spacing and paging. Tap the 3 little lines with a dot at the right of each, and the Contents page appears. Tap any chapter number and you will be taken there. The arrows take you to pages left or right.
To ensure you return to read at the page where you left off, always see that you click the top right Bookmark. The Bookmark will turn black with a minus sign inside. A note appears “Bookmark has been added”. Tap the double Bookmark sign and a list of the pages you have book marked appears. This is an invaluable aid. Until now there has been no answer to the criticism from non e-book readers that it is not easy to “make a note of pages” to which you want to refer in a study or discussion of an e-book. Now, you can do just that! Moreover, if you tap the Magnifying Glass icon at the top right, a keyboard appears and you can make notes on the page you are reading! The 3 dots gives you the choice of what to do with the text. The arrow at the left takes you back to the Reading Page.
Kathleen Kinder
