Whenever my mom took me to the local library when I was little, I would leave with a stack of books taller than I was. I loved browsing the shelves and finding new titles to read. This pattern continued as I made my way through elementary, middle, and high school. But now that I’m a busy college girl, I don’t have as much time to get lost in a physical library (which is devastating to me, because libraries are such magical places). The other day, I found out through the Instagram account @onlyinbos that students attending college in Massachusetts can get a free library card from the Boston Public Library. As an out-of-state student, I was thrilled to find out about this and signed up immediately! While I have a never ending pile of physical books to read, it’s hard to keep up with buying new releases and titles I want to read. It also becomes quite an expensive hobby. Since purchasing an iPad and going digital for note taking, I have become interested in reading e-books.
I had previously downloaded the Kindle app where I am able to read a limited number of titles through my Amazon Prime subscription. However, now that I have my library card, I can read even more books for free. From being on the online book community, I found out about an app called Libby. Libby is a game-changer because it allows you to access your local library virtually. All I had to do was download the app onto my iPad, sign in using my library card, and boom! I now have e-books and audiobooks from the Boston Public Library right at my fingertips. Libby has similar functions as a physical library – I can browse titles and place holds on books I want to read. Browsing for books to read becomes even easier with the option to filter titles based on genre, age range, and even availability. But one of my favorite features has to be my “shelf” where I can see what books I’m currently borrowing and how much longer I have to read them. I can also create “tags” that act like wishlists for all the books I want to read. I keep my tags organized by genre, and Libby automatically creates a tag for books I’ve borrowed. The app is incredibly user-friendly, and I’ve already spent lots of time scrolling through the fantasy section. I feel like a kid again, being able to get lost while looking for new books to read.