Freading App

When the chill of autumn gives way to the frost of winter, there is no better companion than a book to keep you warm. But what happens when you need a book and a trip to the library doesn’t fit on your to-do list? No worries, there are two apps for that: Overdrive and Freading. 

Overdrive 

OverDrive, a.k.a. Wisconsin’s Digital Library, offers e-books, e-audiobooks, and streaming videos for any Internet-enabled computer, tablet, e-reader, or smartphone. Every library card holder in good standing can check out up to 10 items at a time for select periods. (There may be a waiting period for popular books because only a few licenses are purchased per item.) The best part? Books return themselves at the end of the loan period so there are never any fines. There is even a setting available to control the maturity level of the content available. Double parent win!  

Freading 

The Freading app is perfect for the DIY and how-to person, and there is no waiting! Everything found on Freading is available all the time, so there is no having to wait for the book to be returned. Books are checked out based on credits. Each user receives three credits per week, and they reset at the start of every month. It is one credit for one book, and books may be checked out for two weeks with an additional two-week renewal option. This app offers a range of fiction and nonfiction but doesn’t generally carry bestsellers. Also Freading does not offer maturity setting controls. 

Both apps, available via the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and the Indianhead Federated System, offer e-books to people of all ages who do their reading on an e-reader, tablet, computer, or phone. To learn more on how to download the apps and about lending periods, go to ecpubliclibrary.info (or your local library’s website) and search for downloadable media.