2023 download charts!

So what were you reading in 2023?  Well, it was a bumper year for our Library2go downloadable services with you borrowing over 2.5 million newspapers, 500k magazines, 190k ebooks and 180k audiobooks!! This is what the top ten loans in each category looked like –

eBooks
Yellowface was this year’s decisive winner with 732 Edinburgh readers checking out this bestseller on Libby. Richard Osman appears twice with two offerings from his Thursday Night Murder Club series.

1. Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang (732)
2. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (534)
3. The People’s City (500)
4. The Last Goodnight  by Kat Martin (423)
5. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman (418)
6. Be Happy by Rebecca Ray (410)
7. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (401)
8. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (395)
9. The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose (340)
10. The Girls in the Glen by Lynne McEwan (328)

eAudiobooks
Rebecca Yarros’s epic fantasy is the run-away winner of the audiobook category with 831 loans. Lovely to see classic novel, Pride & Prejudice, making an appearance in the top 10.

1. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (831)
2. The Bonnie Dead by Andrew Raymond (594)
3. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (534)
4. Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang (471)
5. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin (422)
6. 1989 by Val McDermid (396)
7. Official Secrets by Andrew Raymond (391)
8. The Dentist by Tim Sullivan (378)
9. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (375)
10. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (367)

eMagazines
A mixture of titles available on PressReader and Libby, the Economist is top of this chart.

1. The Economist (17,394)
2. Radio Times (14,162)
3. Hello! (11,052)
4.Good Housekeeping (9725)
5. Auto Express (9,230)
6. BBC Good Food (9,313)
7. TV Times (8,547)
8. New Scientist (6,679)
9. TV & Satellite (6,188)
10. Computer Active (5,730)

eNewspapers
Our Edinburgh readers love their newspapers on PressReader! Nearly half a million Scotsman newspapers were downloaded this year, closely followed by the Edinburgh Evening News.

1.The Scotsman (484,952)
2. Edinburgh Evening News (333,246)
3. The Guardian (312,375)
4. The Herald (168,808)
5. The Daily Telegraph (146,642)
6. Scottish Daily Mail (109,502)
7. Daily Mail (88,431)
8. The Independent (54,832)
9. The Daily Record (52,841)
10. The Observer (29,270)

Check out our Library2go support pages if you’d like to get started using our downloadable services. They are free and easy to use! All you need is a tablet, smartphone or computer and your library membership.

We wish you a Libby Christmas!

Yes, it is a bit early to be talking about Christmas! But just in case you are one of those people who likes to get into the seasonal spirit by reading lots of wintery tales in the run-up to festivities or like to make your own Christmas presents, we’re flagging up some fabulous reads available now on Libby!

Libby is our brilliant free ebook, audiobook and magazine platform. Full instructions for installing and using it can be found on our Your Library website.

Christmas Crafts & Food

Get making and baking with a brilliant range of craft magazines and cook books/ magazines. Lots of delicious recipes to get the tastebuds going as well as craft inspiration with crochet, cross stitch, sewing and covering everything that moves in glitter!

Winter Reads

Ease in gently to the Christmas feeling with winter-themed reading – covers featuring snow covered cottages and even some winter crime chillers!

Christmas Crackers
We’ve got a brilliant range of Christmas fiction – perfect for cozying up on the sofa with a hot chocolate or mulled wine.

Childrens & Teens Christmas Reads
Lovely books to read to the wee ones (as if they weren’t excited enough about Santa coming!) as well as some wintery reads for teens.

 

Together We Read 2023

We are holding another UK Together We Read digital book club, giving unlimited access to a popular ebook and audiobook until 24 October. Access it through the Libby app or Libby website.

This year’s brilliant title is the no.1 Sunday Times bestseller Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. In Yellowface, authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

The ebook and audiobook can be accessed on tablet, smartphone or computer and full instructions can be found on our Libby help pages. Why not encourage your friends and family to read it too and host your own book group get-together!

For further information contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk

The Big Library Read!

Join millions of others around the world in reading a fantastic biography during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 3-17 May, readers can borrow and read the ebook and audiobook versions of Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho on  Libby. Borrow this award-winning book with no waiting lists on the Libby app or by visiting our Libby website.

Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details—language, cultural references, memories, and food. When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life.

Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, Tastes Like War is about a daughter’s search for the roots of her mother’s schizophrenia. In her mother’s final years, Grace learned to cook dishes from her parent’s childhood in order to invite the past into the present, and to hold space for her mother’s multiple voices at the table. And through careful listening over these shared meals, Grace discovered not only the things that broke the brilliant, complicated woman who raised her—but also the things that kept her alive.

The book is available on the home page of the Libby app and the Libby website with unlimited downloads so is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. You can even discuss the book online or use #biglibraryread on social media from the 3-17 May for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy A7 Lite tablet, Libby goodies and signed books by the author. Full instructions for using Libby can be found on our Your Library website.

 

Library2go help sessions

Do you need help getting started with Edinburgh Libraries downloadable ebook, audiobook, magazine or newspaper services?

Or do you have a query about using any of the libraries online services?

Then come along with your device to one of our eresources help sessions. We can help get you set up and take you through using our services step-by-step. These happen on Tuesday afternoons in the Central Library.

To attend book a slot in advance by emailing:
informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk with your name and phone number and we’ll call you back to arrange a time.

Further details can be found at:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/digitalsurgeries

Get an Instant Digital Card

Do you know someone who would benefit from free access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, but who are not a member of the library? This New Year you can get free instant access to Edinburgh Libraries Libby service without a library card. Thousands of best-selling titles for adults, teens and children are available to read on your phone, tablet or computer. It’s a fantastic way to make the most of your electronic Christmas presents and to save money. Please spread the word to relatives and friends!

No library card? No problem! From the 10 January – 9 February 2023 if you are over 16 years old you can sign up for an Instant Digital Card in seconds. All you need is a mobile phone number and the access code – Library2go. To find out how to get started go to http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/IDC.

The Instant Digital Card gives you access to Libby for three months. However, you can keep on using the service for free by joining the library and receiving a permanent membership card. Join online through http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary

Contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk if you have any questions about our downloadable services.

What have you been reading?!

Our downloadable library has proved a lifeline to many during the pandemic and Edinburgh Libraries has seen usage of its ebook, audiobooks, newspaper and magazine services grow over this period. But, what have you all been reading over the last year and is it any different from anywhere else in the UK?!

eBOOKS
You have borrowed over 205,000 ebooks from our Libby by OverDrive service this year! Surprisingly only three* of the titles on our top ten loans match those of the rest of the UK. Many of our top lenders have a decidedly Scottish theme or author –

1. A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone – 1,050 loans
2. The Thursday Murder Club* by Richard Osman – 938 loans
3. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro – 689 loans
4. The Hoarder by Jess Kidd – 652 loans
5. In Dark Water by Lynne McEwan– 642 loans
6. What He Knew by Marion Todd– 497 loans
7. Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming – 432 loans
8. The Sentinel* by Lee Child – 411 loans
9. The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson – 407 loans
10. The Coffin Maker’s Garden by Stuart MacBride – 402 loans

NEWSPAPERS
You read over 2.3 million newspaper copies last year through our PressReader service, making newspapers by far our most popular downloadable resource. The Scotsman however is our run-away favourite newspaper read –

1. The Scotsman – 441,021 loans
2. The Guardian – 161, 162 loans
3. Daily Telegraph – 144,243 loans
4. The Herald – 122, 476 loans
5. Scottish Daily Mail – 91,279 loans
6. Daily Mail – 74,421 loans
7. The Independent – 61,467 loans
8. Daily Record – 60,645 loans
9. Daily Express – 44,670 loans
10. The Observer – 25,510 loans

AUDIOBOOKS
Again only four* of the national top issuers make it on to our Libby list with Scottish themes again dominating some of the top spots. Crime and thrillers also feature strongly. This selection comes from Libby, but we offer three audiobook services with a different range of titles on each –

1.  Klara and the Sun* by Kazuo Ishiguro – 518 loans
2.  A Song for the Dark Times* by Ian Rankin – 497 loans
3.  Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan – 426 loans
4. The Coffinmaker’s Garden* by Stuart MacBride – 383 loans
5. The Cut by Chris Brookmyre – 335 loans
6. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn – 329 loans
7.  Lockdown by Peter May – 321 loans
8.  Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie- 289 loans
9. The World’s Worst Parents by David Walliams – 285 loans
10. Cold Mourning* by Brenda Chapman – 281 loans

MAGAZINES
Our top magazines on Libby are pretty much the same as everywhere else except for the inclusion of The Week and surprisingly The New Yorker! Both our Libby and PressReader magazine services have over 3,000 magazines in them each. Top magazines on PressReader include the TV Times and Auto Express –

1.  HELLO! – 2,831 loans
2.  The Economist – 2,050 loans
3.  New Scientist – 1,557 loans
4.  Good Housekeeping – 1,432 loans
5.  Woman’s Weekly – 1,368 loans
6.  BBC Good Food Magazine – 1,283 loans
7.  The New Yorker – 1,211 loans
8. The Week – 1,052 loans
9.  Radio Times – 987 loans
10. Woman – 832 loans

Find out how to use our downloadable services at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/library2go

A thrilling Big Library Read!

Read a fantastic new thriller during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 28 June -12 July, readers can borrow The Quiet Girl by S.F. Kosa, a tightly-woven book that inspires questions about trauma, memory, and how well we ever know the people we love. Borrow it for free from our OverDrive service with no waiting list on the Libby app or by visiting our OverDrive website. 

Good girls keep quiet. But quiet girls can’t stay silent forever—and the consequences are sure to make some noise. When Alex arrives home to patch things up with his new wife, Mina, he finds an empty wine glass in the sink, her wedding ring on the desk, and a string of questions in her wake. The police believe that Mina simply left, their marriage crumbling before it truly began. But what Alex finds in their empty cottage points him toward a different reality: Mina has always carried a secret. And now she’s disappeared.

The book will be available on the home page of the Libby/OverDrive apps and the OverDrive website from the 28 June and with unlimited downloads is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. You can even discuss the book online or by using #biglibraryread on social media you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet and book signed by the author!

Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

A stress-free Big Library Read!

Join millions of others around the world in reading a timely book about dealing with stress during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 5-19 April, readers can borrow and read Dr Brian King’s ebook The Art of Taking it Easy from our OverDrive service with no waiting list. Find out how to cope with bears, traffic and the rest of life’s stressors with the Libby app or by visiting our OverDrive website. 

Psychologist and stand-up comedian Dr Brian King gives us a practical, yet laugh-out-loud guide to embracing humour to reduce stress and live a happier, fuller life. In this brilliant guide he presents hands-on techniques for managing stress by rewiring our brains to approach potentially difficult situations through a lens of positivity. Exploring what stress is, where it comes from, and what it does to our bodies and brains, he delves deep into how to address everyday stress—as well as anxiety, insecurities, repression, and negativity—and gives insight into resulting ailments such as anxiety disorders, depression, hypertension, obesity, substance abuse disorders, and more.

The book will be available on the home page of the Libby/OverDrive apps and the OverDrive website from the 5 April and with unlimited downloads is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. You can even discuss the book online or by using #biglibraryread on social media you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet and book signed by the author!

Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

 

RBdigital audiobooks move to OverDrive

This month has seen the transfer of our RBdigital audiobook collection to our OverDrive service. Over two thousand adult, teen and children’s audiobooks were moved to the OverDrive Libby app and OverDrive website more than doubling the collection available here and making it easier to find and download your favourite books. You’ll find best-selling authors such as Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Jojo Moyes and David Nicholls.

Over 4,000 audiobook titles are available on OverDrive along with almost 10,000 ebooks. Many of the audiobooks are multi-access, meaning no waiting and instant access. Over lockdown lots of people have discovered the joy of listening to books whilst at home for company and its great whilst you are doing other things such as cleaning, cooking or gardening. Logging into the Libby app is super-easy too – you just use your library card number and PIN. Full user instructions can be found on our Your Library website.

If you were previously an RBdigital user, but have not been able to login to OverDrive drop an email to informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk and we’ll quickly sort it out for you.

Love audiobooks? Check out our other audiobook platforms – BorrowBox and uLIBRARY for a further range of authors and titles.

A fantastical Big Library Read

Join millions of others around the world in reading a fantastic young adult fantasy novel during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 2-16 November, readers can borrow and read Tim Ryan La Sala’s wildly imaginative ebook or audiobook  Reverie from our OverDrive service. Travel to other worlds with your library card and no waiting lists, with the Libby app or by visiting our OverDrive website. You can even discuss the book online.

Find out what happens when the secret worlds people hide within themselves come to light. All Kane Montgomery knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. He can’t remember anything since an accident robbed him of his memories a few weeks ago. And the world feels different—reality itself seems different.

So when three of his classmates claim to be his friends and the only people who can tell him what’s truly going on, he doesn’t know what to believe or who he can trust. But as he and the others are dragged into unimaginable worlds that materialize out of nowhere, Kane realizes that nothing in his life is an accident, and only he can stop their world from unraveling.

The book will be available on the home page of the Libby/OverDrive apps and the OverDrive website from the 2 November and with unlimited downloads is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

Libraries Week 2020

Libraries Week is an annual celebration of the best that libraries have to offer. In 2020, it takes place between the 5th-10th October and this year’s theme is “Your Passport to Reading”.

Even with our libraries being closed for a long period this year we have still endeavoured to provide our readers with access to quality reading materials through our downloadable Library2go collections. So why not celebrate Libraries Week with us by exploring these services that have truly proved a passport to reading during lockdown.

Library2go provides a fantastic range of free ebooks, audiobooks, newspapers and magazines that you can use on your tablet, smart phone or computer. Sign in using your Edinburgh Libraries membership number and PIN. Forgotten your PIN? Use our PIN Reset service. Not a library member? Use our online Join the Library service.

Newspapers – get access to your daily newspaper without leaving the house. You can get 250 UK newspapers including the Edinburgh Evening news, The Scotsman, The Herald, Scottish Daily Mail, The Guardian and the Daily Record on our PressReader service.

eBooks – thousands of best-selling books for adults, teens and kids can be found on OverDrive. Read through the OverDrive website your computer or with their brilliant Libby app on a phone or tablet.

Audiobooks – listen to best-selling books with fantastic narrators on our OverDrive, RBdigital, BorrowBox and uLIBRARY sites.These four downloadable audiobook services give you a wide range of adult, teen and children’s titles to choose from.

Magazines –  hundreds of UK and worldwide magazines are available to read through RBdigital and PressReader. So whether you’re in to Hello!, Amateur Gardening, Good Housekeeping, Auto Express, TV Times, BBC Good Food or Amateur Photography we’ve got it covered.

There are clear instructions on how to use all these services available from https://yourlibrary.edinburgh.gov.uk. Any further questions please contact informationdigital@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Maths Week Scotland

Here at Edinburgh Libraries our Children and Young People’s facebook page will be celebrating all things mathematical next week as they help celebrate Maths Week Scotland which runs from the 28^th September until the 4^th of October.

Join us throughout the week on our facebook page for all our usual activities but with a number or counting theme!

Maths week Scotland have kindly funded our new digital maths ebook collection for children which you can borrow using your Edinburgh Libraries card. Simply install the Libby app on your tablet or smartphone or go to the OverDrive website on your computer and login with your Edinburgh Libraries membership card and PIN.

Maths Week Scotland have a fantastic range of events and activities over on their website  – www.mathsweek.scot/ and you can follow the news on twitter with #Mathsweekscot.

Join in with the Big Library Read

Join millions of others around the world in reading a historical fiction thriller during the Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From 3-17 August, readers can borrow and read Tim Mason’s “intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting” ebook or audiobook The Darwin Affair from our OverDrive service. Solve the mystery from home – with your library card and no waiting lists, with the Libby app or by visiting our OverDrive website. You can even discuss the book online.

Historical fiction novel The Darwin Affair takes place in London during June 1860. When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later, Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Soon, Field’s investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin’s controversial On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a madman named the Chorister. As he edges closer to the Chorister, Field uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden. Tim Mason has created a rousing page-turner that both Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would relish!

The book will be available on the home page of the Libby/OverDrive apps and the OverDrive website from the 3 August and with unlimited downloads is perfect for discussing with your friends and family. If you use #biglibraryread on social media you’ll be entered into a draw to win a Samsung Galaxy Tablet!  Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

Instant access to ebooks and audiobooks

This New Year we are running a fantastic promotion for non-library users offering them free instant access to ebooks and audiobooks on OverDrive without the need for a library card. If you read this blog you are probably already a member of the library, but do you know someone who isn’t, but would love free ebook and audiobook downloads? Please spread the word to your friends, family and work colleagues! 

Anyone over 13 years old with an EH postcode home, work or study address can sign up for instant access in seconds. All you need is a mobile phone number and the access code – Library2go. Thousands of best-selling books for adults, teens and children are available through OverDrive’s website or the Libby app. It’s a fantastic way to make the most of your electronic Christmas presents and to save money!

This promotion gives you access to OverDrive for three months.  However, its easy for people to keep on using the service for free by joining the library and receiving a permanent membership card. 

To find out how to get started go to  www.edinburgh.gov.uk/IDC This access option will be available from 7 January – 7 February 2020.

Edinburgh’s City Read

This week is Book Week Scotland and we’d like you to join in by downloading our Edinburgh Reads ebook title! Specially picked with our readers in mind, See Them Run by Marion Todd, is a fantastic new crime novel set in Scotland. Download it through the Libby app or OverDrive website and read for free.

In St Andrews someone is bent on murder – but why? On the night of a wedding, one guest meets a grisly end when he’s killed in a hit-and-run. A card bearing the number ‘5’ has been placed on the victim’s chest. The following night number ‘4’ is also struck down. DI Clare Mackay and her team realise they’re against the clock to find a killer stalking the streets of the picturesque Scottish town and bent on carrying out three more murders.

Unlimited downloads are available from 18 November – 1 December, all you need is library membership so you can login with your library card and PIN. Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

 

This autumn’s Big Library Read

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Gilly Segal is this autumn’s Big Library Read and unlimited people will be able to read it from our OverDrive site at the same time from 4th till 18th November. There’s nothing quite like a fantastic young adult novel so join in with the world’s largest digital reading club!

Over the course of one night, two girls with two very different backgrounds must rely on each other to get through the violent race riot that has enveloped their city. Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she’s going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together. They aren’t friends. They hardly understand the other’s point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they’re going to survive the night.

Readers can join an online conversation about the book at BigLibraryRead.com. All you need is library membership so you can login with your library card and PIN. Full instructions for using OverDrive can be found on our Your Library website.

Spooky Halloween Reads

Looking for a spooky read this Halloween? Here are some of our favourite children’s titles! Click on the title to reserve a copy at your local library.

Christopher pumpkin by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
Christopher Pumpkin is delighted to be magicked to life by a witch – until he discovers she wants him and the other pumpkins to get her creepy castle ready for the spookiest party ever! Chris just can’t bring himself to hang cobwebs and cook curried slugs – he’s much more into bunting and fairy cakes!

Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire by Francesca Simon
Henry’s class are on a spooky school trip to the local museum, but could there be a terrifying zombie vampire on the loose? Henry soon has his classmates believing Miss Battle-Axe and Miss Lovely might be scarier than they seem. Originally published: as part of Horrid Henry and the zombie vampire.

 

Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbit
Welcome to the Embassy of the Dead. Leave your life at the door. Jake likes to stay out of trouble, usually. But when he opens a strange box containing a severed finger, trouble comes knocking at his door. Literally. Jake has summoned a reaper to drag him to the Eternal Void (yep, it’s as deadly as it sounds) and his only option is to RUN FOR HIS LIFE! Alone (and a tiny bit scared, to be honest), Jake makes another spooky discovery – he can see and speak to ghosts and, with the help of his deadly gang (well dead, at least) – ancient butler Stiffkey, hockey stick-wielding Cora, and Zorro the ghost fox – Jake has one mission: find the Embassy of the Dead and seek refuge. But the Embassy has troubles of its own and may not be the safe haven Jake is hoping for.

Mossbelly MacFearsome and the Goblin Army by Alex Gardiner
It’s Halloween, and Roger is yet again pulled into a bonkers adventure with the grouchy dwarf warrior Mossbelly MacFearsome. It turns out that Roger has accidentally set free the vicious Goblin Chief Redcap, who is looking to open an ancient portal back to his own world. Now Roger, Moss and their friends must track him down before he unleashes a mighty horde of goblins hellbent on destruction, mayhem – and pickled onions. But how exactly does one find a ghoulish goblin on the one night of the year when everyone is in spooky fancy dress?

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake, even more than usual. She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass’s parents are filming their TV show about the world’s most haunted cities. Sure, it’s fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there’s true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs. When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter – and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger. And if Cass fails, the force she’s unleashed could haunt the city forever.

Look out too for the Spooky Reads collection of ebooks and audiobooks on our Kid’s OverDrive site and Halloween Horrors on the Teen OverDrive site.

Libraries Week focus: ebooks

 

Today we’re highlighting our ebook collection for Libraries Week. We have a truly fantastic ebook service at Edinburgh Libraries offering you access to 12,500 titles for adults, teens and kids. You’ll find a wide range of genres in fiction and non-fiction – there’s definately something for everyone!

Our OverDrive system makes it super easy for you to find and borrow books whether through their fantastic Libby app on your tablet or phone or their website on your computer. Some of our favourite things about OverDrive are-

1. It’s super-easy to get started – just login with your library card and PIN
2. You can borrow from anywhere – at home, on the bus, or on the beach in Spain
3. You can change the font / size / background colour to suit your own eyesight
4. New stock is added twice a month to keep the site fresh
5. You can borrow ten titles (in addition to your physical loans from the library)
6. When the library is closed – OverDrive is open! Its like having a library branch in your own home
7. There is a dyslexic font available
8. You can access a great range of specialised collections – Reading Well for Mental Health,  LGBT, Bibliotherapy, Read-a-long ebook/audiobooks for children
9. As well as ebooks there’s audiobooks and comics on OverDrive
10. You’ll find Polish ebooks and audiobooks available too

OverDrive is incredibly easy to use and you’ll find full user
instructions available on our Your Library website. Or why not pop in to our drop-in sessions at Central Library every Tuesday from 2-3.30pm where you can get help setting up your mobile device and all your questions answered.

Libraries Week focus: eaudiobooks

On today’s Library Week post we are focussing on downloadable audiobooks. Edinburgh Libraries have seen the popularity of this service grow hugely in the last year. And what’s not to love! – they are ideal for the morning commute, the gym or while you’re doing the cooking, housework and DIY.  Eyesight not so good? Then still indulge your love of reading with audiobooks instead.

There are thousands of audiobooks to borrow for free at home from Edinburgh Libraries four downloadable audiobook services.  These give you the widest choice possible of authors and publishers.

Check these out today –

OverDrive – checkout over 2500 adult, teen and child audiobooks with OverDrive. There’s a great range of fiction and non-fiction titles available from bestselling authors including Becoming by Michelle Obama, Transcription by Kate Atkinson and Normal People by Sally Rooney. You can borrow up to ten at a time and either stream over the internet or download on your mobile device or computer on the Libby app.

RBdigital – has a great range of bestselling British authors such as Peter May, Cecelia Ahern, Val McDermid, Peter James, David Walliams and Santa Montefiore. Borrow another five titles here with automatic returns and no fines. 2500 titles to choose from including children’s, teen and adult titles.

Borrowbox – has a super easy to use app and a growing collection of over 1000 adult audiobooks. Some fantastic titles including The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, The Long Call by Ann Cleeves and Cari Mora by Robert Harris

uLIBRARY – our newest service with a growing choice of British authors including Ann Cleeves, Quintin Jardine, Paula Hawkins, M.J.Arlidge & Katie Fforde

Would like a bit of help setting these services up on your phone or tablet? Then bring your device along to our drop-in session every Tuesday on the mezzanine, Central Library from 2-3.30pm and we’ll help you get set up.