As a library member, you can download digital titles directly onto your device.
Your Digital Library
To use this fantastic free service you will need a Perth and Kinross library membership, internet access and a compatible device.
If you’re not a member and if you live or work in Perth and Kinross, why not join the library to use this service.
Get started
There are just a few steps required before you can start downloading titles:
- Download the Libby app, available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire or the BorrowBox app, also available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire.
- Follow the prompts to find your library (search for ‘Perth’ or ‘Culture Perth and Kinross‘).
- Login to the app/website with your library card number and PIN and start browsing our Digital Library OverDrive and BorrowBox collections.
- When using BorrowBox for the first time, you may also be asked to enter your email address and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
- If you have any problems signing in with your library card number or PIN, please contact us on 01738 444949 (Tuesday-Friday 9.30am-3.30pm).
- For any other problems, please contact us at [email protected]
If you are having any problems with device compatibility, you can also use the web browser version of Libby at libbyapp.com or the OverDrive website at perthandkinross.overdrive.com or the web browser version of BorrowBox at perthkinross.borrowbox.com (on a supported web browser).
Currently, you can download up to 8 titles at a time (a combined total of e-books and e-audiobooks). This total includes ‘holds’ (or ‘reservations’) when using BorrowBox, but you can have up to 6 holds/reservations when using OverDrive/Libby in addition to your number of loans.
There is no limit on the number of e-magazines that you can read when using OverDrive/Libby but e-magazines from BorrowBox are limited to 100 issues for the current month. When the limit has been reached, customers will be placed on a waiting list for the next month’s issue (past month’s issues are unlimited).
Use an E-reader (for e-books)
You can also use an E-reader device to transfer titles to, once they have been downloaded to a computer. Some E-readers allow you to download titles from the library directly onto the device. See the Help for E-readers (OverDrive/Libby) and BorrowBox Help web pages for more information.
Depending on which make of E-reader you are using, it’s important to select “Return” for a title (before selecting “Remove”) in the device menu, if you want to download more titles onto the device before the 21 day loan period has ended.
You don’t have to “Remove” titles from your E-reader if you want to keep a record of previously borrowed titles, although this can be found under My account > History in your OverDrive/Libby online account, or under My Loans > Loan History in your BorrowBox account.
Reserve a title
The e-book service allows you to reserve (hold) a title which has already been downloaded by another user. If you wish to include your email address with the reservation you will be alerted as soon as the title becomes available. See above for limits on the number of holds (reservations) that you can have at a time.
Renew a title
Loans can be renewed before they are due to expire, as long as the library still owns a copy and there are no holds (reservations). You can renew BorrowBox titles at any time, but OverDrive/Libby titles can only be renewed three days before they are due to expire.
If an OverDrive/Libby title has holds (reservations), you won’t be able to renew it. Instead, you can use the Request again feature to join the title’s wait list, so you can borrow it again once it’s available. If prompted, enter and confirm your email address in the pop-up window to get an email when the title is available to borrow again.
Return a title
It is possible to ‘return’ a title once it is taken out on loan. Each title has a loan period for up to 21 days at which point the title will expire and will no longer be readable on your computer or e-reader. To return a title before this time, navigate to the loans/bookshelf page for the title you want to return. There should be a return option when you select the title that you want to return.
There are no charges for ‘overdue’ titles. Once your borrowing time is up, the title will no longer be available on your device.
Kindle owners
For reasons beyond our control, the service is not available for any Kindle e-readers including the original, Paperwhite and Voyage models. However, the Kindle Fire is compatible with the service, as long as it is running on Android/Fire version 5.0 as a minimum (correct as at March 2021). Follow the instructions to install Libby on your Fire tablet or BorrowBox on your Fire tablet.
You can also find free e-books for original Kindle e-readers from the following websites:
- Project Gutenberg offers over 42,000 free ebooks; download them or read them online.
- Bibliomania offers full text editions of over 2,000 classic works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and reference titles.
Magazine titles available
See our full Digital Magazine Collection (OverDrive) and Digital Magazine Collection (BorrowBox) as well as other digital magazines available in PressReader.
Additional Support
For further information about using the OverDrive/Libby e-library service, please see the Help and/or Troubleshooting pages on their website, or the BorrowBox Help pages on their website (you need to be signed in to BorrowBox to access).
You can also watch the How to Get Started on the BorrowBox App video on YouTube.
Online newspapers also available
See our Digital Newspapers page for more details about how you can read your favourite newspaper online for free!
Library Mobile App
You can also use the library mobile app to help you access your non-digital library books account on the move, including the option to renew items on loan and reserve items for collection at any Perth and Kinross library:
If you are having problems with the app, try clearing the app cache and data first and then try uninstalling and re-installing the app. See the link below for steps to clear the app cache and data on an Android device: