We’re in unusual times with many of us staying at home, working from home and having to find new ways to keep ourselves and others in our households occupied. Normal routines such as visiting the library can’t happen for a while (we’re missing you and can’t wait to see you soon) and you may be missing the escape of reading a good book/reading with your child/discussing the latest best-selling novel. Never fear though, we’re here for you, and in our next few blogs we’ll be sharing hints and tips on Warwickshire Library Service offers that you can access during this period.
Each #LibrariesFromHome post will be on a different topic, starting today with a look at BorrowBox – our eBook and eAudio offer. We’ll share hints and tips so that you can get the best out of our digital resources, and if you have any queries you can get in touch with us online.
Accessing BorrowBox
You’ll find the link to our BorrowBox Library here. Depending on the device you’re using, you can download the BorrowBox app, sign in with your ID (your library card barcode) and your usual PIN and start browsing.
If you have any difficulties, there is a large Help directory available from BorrowBox or you can get in touch with us either on social media or by using the link mentioned above with your query.
We have both eBooks and eAudio books available to borrow (and yes, listening to eAudio books counts as reading and is a fantastic way to do two things at once – I often do my ironing while listening).
You’ll notice we have a collection of titles called ‘Listen/Read Now – No Waiting’. These are titles that are always available and allow lots of you to read the same book at the same time, so we hope you’ll find something there to enjoy. Some are available in both eBook and eAudio format, while others are in one or the other.
Loans on BorrowBox are for three weeks. However, if you finish your title early (and especially at the moment when demand for the collection is high), we’d ask you to please hit the ‘return’ button so that more people will be able to enjoy the fabulous book you’ve just finished sooner. Many of our titles will have waitlists at the moment so if you do finish with a title, or you’re not enjoying it, please do return it so others can give it a go.
Don’t worry if you haven’t quite finished a title in three weeks; you can also renew it.
Hints & Tips for using BorrowBox
Browsing our collection
There are various ways to browse – by genre or category, by audience, by which items are available. You can likewise browse through ‘New Releases’, ‘Top Downloads’ or ‘New to the library’ (these are things that we have recently added to our collection). There’s also the option to search for specific titles and authors if you would prefer.
Reading Lists
If you’re using the app, you can curate your own digital ‘TBR’ pile by using the ‘Reading List’ function. If there’s a title that you like the look of but you don’t want to read it straightaway, add it to your reading list there and then by pressing and holding the cover image and the option to add it will come up. You can then keep an eye on it by checking back to your list. There’s also the function to check which titles on your eBook or eAudio reading list are available at any one time if you’re looking for something straightaway.
Returning
As mentioned above, although loans are for three weeks, there is the option to return items that you have finished with before the end of three weeks. At the moment, as demand for eBooks/eAudio is high, we’d ask you to please do this when you have finished.
Share what you’ve read
If there’s a title you’ve enjoyed, let us know! Tweet us, join in with the conversation on our Facebook Reading Challenge page or email us with your review and, with your permission, we can let our followers know what’s being enjoyed in the collection (we won’t name you but if you have a short review, we’d love to hear it).
This is an ideal opportunity to try something you wouldn’t normally read or to borrow something you maybe thought ‘one day, I’ll get around to reading that’. It could be trying out some Young Adult fiction (I can highly recommend anything by Juno Dawson, Angie Thomas or Patrick Ness).
Alternatively, why not scroll through any of the lists on BorrowBox and pick say the 10th one featured or the 17th? We can pick you a title if you message us on Twitter or Facebook or you could go for an author whose surname begins with the same letter as yours. There are lots of ways to make choosing your next read a little bit different.
If you’re just getting started with BorrowBox, or need any help at all, you can email us at libraryenquiryteam@warwickshire.gov.uk or we have two videos available for you – one for getting started which you can view here and a second with tips and tricks for making the most of our BorrowBox collection, available to view here. This includes the all-important ‘hit return’ – when you’ve finished with a title, please hit the return link in your ‘My Loans’ list so that the next reader can enjoy the title.
You can also adjust the font, font size and background when reading eBooks and change the playback speed when listening to eAudio books to ensure you get the best reading/listening experience that suits you.
Go on, give it a go (though if you don’t get on with a title, don’t forget to hit that ‘return’ button – it could be someone else’s perfect read!)
As always, happy reading but also stay safe and take care.
ED
Warwickshire Libraries 