Tag: Libby

Introducing Notify Me on the Libby App

Monty

Do you use our Libby app or website? On Tuesday 21 March, Libby is introducing a new service to its app and website, called Notify me — read below to find out more!

How does it work?

Through Notify Me you’ll be able to find and tag eBook and eAudiobook titles not already in our Libby collection (but available for us to purchase), notifying the library of your interest if the title is acquired. If the title is then acquired by the library, you will receive a notification that the title is available.

In Libby, there are two ways to discover titles that are not yet in our digital collection:

  1. If you search for a title, author, or series and it returns no results, Libby will automatically expand into a “deep search” to display relevant titles that are not yet in our collection
  2. If you run a search that returns fewer than 100 results, you can tap the filter button to manually enable “deep search”
Click the filter button Toggle on Deep search

From the expanded search, you will see relevant results with a Notify Me option. Tap Notify Me to tag titles and be notified if they are added to our library’s digital collection in the future:

An example of Notify Me and its icon

How can I find out more?

Need more information? You can learn more about Notify Me through the Libby Help site below:

Notify Me — Libby Help

Update on Recommend to Library through the OverDrive app

Some library members may already be using a similar service called Recommend to Library that is available through our OverDrive app and website. (See our previous blog post for more information on the phrasing out and transition from the OverDrive app to Libby.)

Recommend to Library will be discontinued at the same time as the OverDrive app on 1 May 2023. We advise any customers still using Recommend to Library to begin using Notify Me from the 21st of March.

We will continue to do our best to support you in moving from OverDrive to Libby throughout this time period. If you have any issues with either app or would like any further information about these changes, please get in touch below:

Email us – enquiries@wcl.govt.nz

Access changes to The Economist magazine

wclstaff

economist coverA change is coming to digital issues of The Economist in our eLibrary. The publisher of The Economist has put in place a new lending model with restrictions around accessing digital issues.

Overdrive decided they could not support the changes and so from the 1st of February The Economist is no longer available to borrow from Libby. You won’t be able to access it from their website or within the Libby app, it is being removed entirely. The last issue available to borrow will be January 28th 2023. All the back issues that are currently available will be removed on February 1st too.

The Economist is still available to read within PressReader, our other digital magazine platform – but due to changes required by the publisher, The Economist via PressReader must be read when you’re in the library, using one of our computers or when connected to the library’s WiFi. You won’t be able to read issues when you’re outside of the library or be able to download them to a device. These are similar to restrictions PressReader has been required to put in place already around reading the Dominion Post and Stuff’s other newspapers.

Unfortunately these changes are beyond our control and we’re sorry for the inconvenience this causes our readers.

Don’t forget our eLibrary technical support team are here to assist you with online resources, so reach out to them if you want help getting started with a new resource eLibrary Help – Getting started. You can also contact them via our online Technical support form or pop into your local branch library to talk to us in person.

The Great Libby Magazine Showcase

Kerry

via GIPHY

For November, we’re focusing on the amazing eMagazines you can find in the Libby collection. Running from the 14th to the 27th, if you visit the Libby homepage you’ll see a different featured eMagazine chosen from a selection handpicked by us! Keep reading for a look into the selection we have on offer, as well as news about a great new Libby feature. 

Ready to dive into the collection? Browse our eMagazine collection here.

                                                                         
Within Libby there’s thousands of eMagazines available to borrow, all for free, and they can be read in your browser or downloaded to your device to read offline. As well as containing perennial favourites The NZ Listener, Guardian Weekly and the Woman’s Weekly, the collection covers a diverse range of topics like gardening, pets, trains and art. They come from publishers all over the world and are available to read in lots of languages: for example, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, and Arabic.

Titles are searchable from within your Libby app or their website, and if you check out the magazine guide on the homepage you’ll find plenty of curated subject lists to help you discover new and interesting magazines to read! Most magazines come with about two years’ worth of back issues, so there’s lots of content to choose from and there’s no limit on the amount you can take out.

Issues can be borrowed in the same way you would borrow an eBook. Simply select the issue you want and click on the borrow icon. eMagazines are loaned for 21 days, and they return automatically when that time is up – just like eBooks!



One great feature is the ‘Notify Me’ tag, which allows you to subscribe to the eMagazines you read regularly. When there’s a new issue available, Libby will notify you with an app notification or an email.
This will take you to the new issue, for you to borrow in the same way you normally would. ‘Notify Me’ can be found when you borrow a magazine, it pops up under the chosen issue. Just click on that and you’re subscribed! Your subscriptions are viewable in your Libby bookshelf.

A reminder – Libby and the Overdrive app

Celeste
Overdrive to Libby

Borrow eBooks, audiobooks & magazines. Libby, the library reading app from OverDriveThis is a quick reminder that in early 2023, the original OverDrive app will be discontinued and replaced with OverDrive’s Libby app. If you are a user of the original app, you may have seen a reminder about these changes pop up for you today.

The OverDrive app was removed from app stores for new downloads in February this year, but remains available to existing users until early 2023.

For more information about this upcoming change, read:

We will continue to do our best to support your use of OverDrive and Libby throughout this time period. If you have any issues with either app or would like any further information about these changes, please get in touch below:

Email us — enquiries@wcl.govt.nz

Greta and Valdin: Our latest eLibrary promotion

Neil
Greta and Valdin cover against a photo of Auckland City

 

The modern world is too much for me. I feel like I’m George of the Jungle. —Greta

At the moment, for personal reasons, I don’t like reading things about people being in love with each other. —Valdin

Since its release in 2021, Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly has become one of the must-read New Zealand novels. Its ultra-modern intelligent humour, often delivered in a razor-sharp pointed fashion, makes for a totally compelling read. Now, thanks to Libby, we are excited to offer unlimited access to the eBook.

The plot revolves around the smart and slightly quirky brother and sister co-narrators Valdin and Greta. They share an apartment in Auckland where they dissect the modern world; its ups and downs but especially each other’s personal lives. Both are seeking love: Valdin is still in love with his ex-boyfriend, whilst Greta is in love with her fellow English tutor Holly. The resulting observations and dialogue are pure comic gold. As one critic put it, the novel reads like “the strange love child of Shakespeare and Tinder”. What is even more remarkable is that Greta and Valdin is Reilly’s debut novel, which went on to win the Hubert Church Prize for Fiction for Best First Book at the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Now is your chance to grab an electronic copy of the book and laugh and cry with Greta and Valdin! Simply login to Overdrive or Libby with your library card to access a copy. Unlimited copies of these eBooks will be available from Monday the 27th of June to Sunday the 10th of July.

Join the phenomena – Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Neil


Pachinko is a ‘powerful story about resilience and compassion’ – Barack Obama.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee has become a cultural phenomenon over the last few years, gaining legions of fans and spawning a smash hit television series. Now, thanks to Libby, we are excited to offer this unlimited access to the eBook and audiobook for a limited time!

On its release in 2017, Pachinko gained rave reviews from the likes of from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian. Reviewers have compared the book to the works of writers like Charles Dickens or John Galsworthy, thanks in part to its epic historical sweep and its emotional resonance.

The plot revolves around four generations of a Korean immigrant family who, after being exiled from Korea, forge a new life in their adopted homeland of Japan. Set between the years of 1910 and 1989, the novel covers a huge sweep of time when the vagrancies of history often played a pivotal role to the fates of all concerned. At the heart of the books, you’ll find an exploration of human relationships and the ups and downs of a family. Many themes are explored in an expressive and emotional style; amongst them themes of discrimination, family and cultural identity,  faith  and exclusion.

The book has been shortlisted for a whole plethora of prizes, including being a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction 2017. Since its release, it has sold over one million copies.

Now is your chance to grab an electronic copy of the book to see what the phenomenon is all about! Simply login to Overdrive or Libby with your library card to access a copy. Join the Pachinko phenomena and read now!

Overdrive cover Pachinko, Min Jin Lee (eBook)
“Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife.Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja’s salvation is just the beginning of her story. Through eight decades and four generations, Pachinko is an epic tale of family, identity, love, death and survival. (Adapted from Overdrive description)

Overdrive cover Pachinko,’Min Jin Lee (Audiobook)
“Yeongdo, Korea – 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child: their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then, Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends, no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja’s salvation is just the beginning of her story.” (Adapted from Overdrive description)