Borrow an e-book from the library

The library has a collection of more than 20,000 e-books. Anyone who is a member of a library can go there. But people can also only be a member of the digital library for a maximum of 42 euros per year.

Each member can borrow up to ten books at a time for the e-reader, tablet, smartphone or computer. These books will remain on the device for three weeks. If you haven’t finished a book by then, you can borrow it again. It is not possible to delete a book earlier. Is your Bookshelf full of ten books and you want to borrow another? Then you have to wait until a spot becomes available on the Bookshelf.

By the way, you can put books on multiple devices. Even if a book is on three of your devices, it still counts as one loan. There is a disadvantage: it does not keep track of where you were reading between the different devices.

In this article, we assume that you are a member of a library or have a digital subscription. You already have an account for the online library.

Borrow a book online like this:

• Open the site of the online library.
• Click in the menu on Ebooks > All eBooks.
• An overview of featured titles per category opens. Click on a genre, for example on View more Voltage, or go for one of the touted titles. In that case, click on the image of the book.
• An overview with information about the book, including a summary of the contents, opens. To download the book, you must log in with your account details. If you have borrowed something before, you may already be logged in. Then skip this step.
  • click on login.
  • A login window opens. Enter your email address or card number and password.
  • click on login.
• You go back to the page of the book. click on Borrow eBook.

Note: a large part of the library’s e-book collection is suitable for e-readers. Each book states whether it is suitable for the e-reader. Most brands of e-readers are suitable for the library books. Just not the Kindle and Sony ones. Search for books that are suitable for the e-reader as follows:

• Open the catalog of the online library.
• Click on ‘Refine by results’ on the left Ebook.
• Click under ‘Reading format’ on For e-reader.
• Select a genre on the left to narrow the choice.

The article ‘Putting e-books from De Bibliotheek on the e-reader’ explains how you can ensure that e-books are placed on the e-reader using the Adobe Digital Editions program.

The library’s ebooks are in the Online Library app. Download the app for free in the App Store for iPads and iPhones and the Play Store for Android tablets.

Open the book on the tablet or smartphone like this:

• Tap the app Online Library.
• You will see a welcome word. Tap on To start or Nto login.
• Enter your email address or card number and password.
• Tap on login.
• An overview screen opens. Here is your book. Isn’t this there?
• Tap the button with the dashes at the top right.
• Tap on Refresh.
• Tap the cover of a book to read it. Scroll through the book by swiping your finger from right to left or vice versa to scroll back.
• Tap the top or bottom of the window to open the menu. Adjust the font size here, among other things, via the icon tT.
• Tap the left arrow in the top left to return to your Bookshelf.

Members of the library can also read e-books from the library on the computer. You then read the book via the browser, which is why you need an internet connection. You had already selected a book on the library’s site in the paragraph ‘Borrow an e-book’. The Bookshelf now opens, with the e-book on it.

• click on Read eBook online.
• The book opens. This may take a while. Wait until you see the book.
• There are arrows to the left and right of the book. Click on the right arrow to turn the page. Scroll back with the left arrow.
• Above the book is an orange menu bar with options. It appears when you hover the mouse pointer over it. The gear button is the most interesting. There you will find a slider to adjust the font size. This one is called ‘Font size’.
  • Move the dot to the right to make the letters bigger.
  • Save the changes via Save changes.
• Close the book with the right button in the menu bar, the rectangle with the arrow to the right. You will then be returned to the library homepage.
• Would you like to read on another time?
  • Go to the website of the online library and log in.
  • Click on the top right Welcome [uw naam].
  • click on My bookshelf.
  • Your Bookshelf opens and you can continue reading by clicking the ‘Read e-book online’ button.