Have you been to the Borrow Box? (passing the time in a cocoon)

Have you been to the Borrow Box?
(passing the time in a cocoon)

With the physical libraries closed, the Borrow Box app has turned out to be a god send. Online, I've been reading books dealing with everything from hurling to wine, all free!

I joined up just about two weeks ago and so far have enjoyed a selection of new and older titles including Christy Ring (by Tim Horgan), Lampedusa (by Steven Price), Death in the Vines (ML Longworth), Resurrection Man (Eoin McNamee), Peaches for Monsieur le Curé (a follow-up to Chocolat by Joanne Harris) and have started The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnett, as Natural Wine for the People (by Alice Feiring) awaits. 

Quite an eclectic selection! Variety is the spice of life. Some serious, some light, some in between. Something for everyone in Borrow Box and the number of books available has been boosted by a whole load of new titles thanks to a financial input by the government.

This is all online and Cork City Libraries have posted the info here “Borrow now straight to your device. Details on how to register from our website".

Basically, all you need do is download the app, sign up using your membership card number and PIN and make your choice. You may have five books at any one time. The five will include any that you have booked. When you go through the books, you’ll note that some have an available date - it could be next week or next month - and you can reserve it with a click.

You may order from different headings such as All Releases, Adult, Young Adult, Children. From different categories eg New Releases, Most Popular - Adult, Most Popular - Teen, Most Popular - Children, Bestseller and so on. And then there are genres: American Fiction, Autobiography, Celebrity, Memoirs, Musician among them. Be sure too to tick the type of delivery you want: eBooks to read yourself, and eAudioBooks if you’d like someone to read to you! They seem to have thought of everything!

More info on signing up here (from Dublin City Library): https://twitter.com/dubcilib/status/1242068845994676224 

Borrow Box is not the only online facility provided by Irish libraries. You may also sead original library publications in pdf format. You may learn a language online. Then there's Press Reader (online newspapers and magazines service, free to current library members). You can also download the FreeGal (music app). RBdigital offers full-colour and interactive magazines to download to your computer, laptop, or mobile device. And you can access the Naxos Music Library. And more.. check it all out here.