SimplyE, an app for borrowing E-books
The New York Public Library launched a mobile app called SimplyE, bringing almost 300,000 books from the library to your smartphone. To do this, you must have a library card. All that you have to do is check the book's availability and download it for free. The books that are in the public domain can be downloaded for free.
About the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a New York's largest public library system. With almost 53 million books and related reading material, the New York Public Library is the "second largest public library in the United States and fourth largest in the world." It is an independently governed, nonprofit organization working with both private and public funding.
New York Public Library steps into the Digital World
SimplyE is a foray of the NYPL into the digital world. It is believed that this came about because of the complaints from e-book users who had to wrestle the tedious interfaces and processes for e-book lending. The SimplyE app will provide users one simple system for all ePub-based library e-books, despite vendor (such as OverDrive, Biblioteca, and Baker & Taylor).
Highlights of SimplyE
To access SimplyE app all you have to do is enter the library card number and PIN, and start borrowing e-books. The interface is "well-designed and easy to navigate." It features highlight titles with "thumbnails of book jackets, organized by fiction, nonfiction, children's, and YA as well as highlighting offerings in a range of languages, genres, bestsellers...even includes staff picks."
Not available for Kindle, and PDFs
Currently, the SimplyE app is only available for iOS and Android but it is yet to be made available Kindle e-books, PDFs, or with e-ink devices.
