Apps FAQs

  • General Questions

    Not ready when your hold becomes available? No worries—Libby lets you suspend your hold, opens a new window. This means you keep your place in line, but the book goes to the next person. This is perfect if you’re overwhelmed with current reads or just not in the mood for that genre right now.

    🌟 Pro-tip: If you do nothing when your hold becomes available, your hold will be suspended automatically for you once as a courtesy. Holds will lapse if they're suspended for 365 days in a row.

    Suspended holds no longer unsuspend automatically, so you’ll need to manually unsuspend them when you’re ready to read.

    How do I unsuspend a hold when I’m ready to read?

    Unsuspend a hold, opens a new window

    To do that, go to your Shelf, tap Holds at the top of the screen, tap Unsuspend, then Unsuspend Hold. If you forget to unsuspend a hold for a whole year (365 days), Libby will cancel it for you.

    After unsuspending your hold, it will be delivered when you reach the top of the wait list.

    Do you still have questions? Here's a guide to Everything you need to know about holds in OverDrive / Libby

    OverDrive (Libby App) Magazines are always available to read and don't count towards your 30 item borrowing limit. 

    Reading magazines in the Libby App has got a lot easier. Simply find the issue you want and start reading. You can also Keep for 7 Days and Subscribe to be notified when new issues come out. For more information see Libby Help - Reading Magazines

    Unfortunately, our OverDrive site and Catalogue/Library account haven't quite caught up. You may notice magazines you've read in the Libby App are showing up as digital checkouts in your library account and your OverDrive account.

    • You can ignore these checkouts (They'll expire on their due date)
    • You can return them via your OverDrive account

    We understand this is confusing and a little frustrating for our customers. OverDrive is considering how it can streamline the magazine reading experience across our different access points and account views.

    The Libby app is a one-tap reading app for borrowing eBooks and eAudiobooks from your library. This free app, created by OverDrive, is available for Android, iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch), and Windows 10 devices.

    1. Install the Libby app from your device’s app store.
    2. In Libby, follow the prompts to find AWA and choose Christchurch City Libraries to sign in with your library card and PIN/password
    3. Browse the AWA collection, then borrow a book or audiobook or open a magazine.
    4. Borrowed titles appear on your Shelf and download to the app automatically so you can read them when you’re offline. Tap Open In Libby or Open Audiobook to start reading or listening in the app.

    Happy reading!

    Libby Help has more information on navigating the app 

    Download the Libby app

    For Windows, Mac, and Chromebooks open libbyapp.com

    Note: libbyapp.com works best in up-to-date versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.

    To use Libby on an android device, you need to have Android version 7.1.1 or later.

    For more information and troubleshooting tips, check out Libby Help and OverDrive Help.

    You'll find titles that aren't offered in our digital collection with Deep Search. Deep Search activates when you run a search and the title is not found in our collection. If there is a title you want to read that Christchurch City Libraries doesn't have, add a Notify Me tag to express your interest in that title. You will be notified if that title gets added to our collection.

    Learn more: https://help.libbyapp.com/en-us/6260.htm

    1. To activate deep search click the filter button
    2. Scroll to the bottom and click deep search show the titles that are now available to show
    3. To add the Notify me tag click the grey card with the bell

    If your card wears out but you are satisfied using the Library App rather than a physical card then just keep on using the app. If you still need a physical card, we will replace it free of charge. The new card will have a new membership number. Lost cards still incur a $5 administration fee to issue a new card.

    Yes. We have a number of apps and tools available for library users. The Library app allows you to easily search for titles in the catalogue, put on holds, and manage your account. There are also apps for some of our popular eResources. 

    • Libby’s minimum iOS version is now iOS 10. To use Libby on an iOS device, users are required to update their device’s operating system to iOS 10 or newer. These are the steps to update your iOS operating system version.
    • The legacy OverDrive for Mac desktop app is only supported on macOS versions 10.12.1 through 10.14.

    Users on legacy web browsers may experience issues loading libbyapp.com or your OverDrive website and should upgrade to a newer browser version, if possible.

    For more information and troubleshooting tips, check out Libby Help and OverDrive Help.

    Yes. Find out more about the LinkedIn Learning App

    The PressReader app is asking you for money as you are no longer recognised as a PressReader “hot spot”.

    If your app isn't signed in the sign in button will appear at the bottom 

    Click this and sign in using your library card.

    If the sign in isn't an option, it means you are already signed in you can select a newspaper or magazine and you should get a screen to add your library card.

    To add you library card click the gold coloured icon

    You may have to search for Christchurch City Libraries, then add your library card and password / pin.

    Follow this steps and you should now have a refreshed "hotspot" (green cup) and able to use PressReader again.

    Simply visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, search for the BorrowBox Library app and press the Update button.

    IPHONE/IPOD/IPAD

    Navigate to the Settings tab, go to the Account Details section and press the Reset button.

    Please note that all current downloads will be lost. You will then be asked to sign in again.

    ANDROID

    Press the Menu button at the top right of the screen or on some devices below the screen and select Account Details. On the following screen select the Reset App option.

  • Library App

    To access te reo Māori in the app, open My Account and select the Languages option from the menu.  From this list, select te reo Māori and confirm the change. Once selected, the app interface will update to te reo Māori. 

    OpenDyslexic is an optional accessibility feature designed to make reading easier for people with dyslexia. The font is weighted at the bottom of each letter to help reduce common reading errors caused by letter rotation and crowding. When enabled, it can improve reading stability, focus, and overall comfort while navigating content in the app.

    To enable this feature, navigate to the Preferences menu. Within the Interface Font section, turn on OpenDyslexic. Once selected, the font will automatically update across supported areas of the app.

    If you would like to return to the default font, switch the setting back to Standard.

    You can access your lists and shelves from the website under My Account. These lists and shelves are not available on the new Library App. 
    You can also make new lists on the Library App, but these lists will only be visible in the App. 

    More about:

     

    Supported Devices

    CCL Mobile - the Library App was built specifically for iPhone and Android devices.

    Supported OS versions

    The current minimum OS versions supported for CCL Mobile - the Library App are: 

    App Platform Minimum OS version
    CCL Mobile for iOS iOS 15.6 or later
    CCL Mobile for Android Android 7 Nougat or higher

    If your device does not support a version of iOS or Android listed above, you will be unable to download the app.

    It can be hard work if you have to manage other people's library cards as well as your own. You can use the Library App to easily borrow and place holds for more than one library account. 

    The Library allows you to add multiple accounts, making it easy to manage individual accounts within the app. Find out how this feature works and get started setting up more than one account on your Android or iOS device.

    This is useful if:

    • You are looking after the library cards of your children and borrowing books for them;
    • You borrow books for elderly relatives, or people in your care.

    Christchurch City Libraries App

    Download from:

    Android devices - Google Play Store

    iOs devices - App Store

    Adding extra accounts

    You can link to additional accounts by navigating to the My Details menu and selecting Linked Accounts. 

    To add a new linked account, select + Add in the top-right corner of the screen. Then enter the barcode and PIN for the account you wish to link. Once entered, selecting Link will complete the process.

    Alternatively, you can choose Scan Membership Card, which uses your device’s camera to scan the library barcode. This provides a quicker option and removes the need to manually enter the borrower number.

    Selecting Linked Accounts again will display all linked accounts. You can also remove linked accounts if needed.