300K Digital Books at Your Fingertips With New York Public Library’s New App

On May 23, 1911, the main branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) was officially opened in a ceremony presided over by President William Howard Taft. Over a century later libraries have virtually become historic relics with the introduction of the e-book, but the NYPL has held on and now digitized its massive collection into more than 300,000 downloadable titles for free.

Summer reading has never been easier than with the NYPL’s newest app, SimplyE, where you can find your favorite titles.

Once you’ve downloaded the app on your smartphone, you just pick a PIN and start reading.

But first to get their e-books, you’ll need that plastic thingie known as a library card which you can find on their website or if you feel like the exercise, visit any local library in New York.

Mashable reports that SimplyE has everything from the classics to A Song of Ice and Fire and even titles in Latin and international languages. Their selection of e-books includes bestsellers, newly released titles, and classics for children, YA, and adult readers.

Digital licenses are limited for each book, so more popular titles may not be readily available. So don’t fret if Harry Potter and the Cursed Child isn’t available. You can reserve it now and it will download automatically when your book is ready.

Unfortunately like any old-fashioned library book, it is on loan. According to an e-chat with Ask A Librarian, “ebooks will expire 14-21 days from the time you download the ebook. It will expire and you will not be able to access it once it expires. (You can’t own it) as it has digital rights management which has a copyright of each electronic book.”

Apple users will not be able to take a bite out of the Big Apple’s library to use SimplyE as it’s currently only available in the iOS and Android app. However, they do offer a quick fix for all you obsessive readers with the OverDrive app, which should cover all your e-book bases, even Mac computers.