2020-07-01
Bruh
This app is stupid when I accidentally flipped my iPad the book went all the way back to the beginning. Should not download this read epic or buy books instead.
Updating
SimplyE
Released: 2016-06-13
© The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations
iPhone Screenshots
iPad Screenshots
Description
SimplyE makes it easy to browse, borrow, and read any eBook in your library’s collection on your mobile device; no need to download multiple apps.
Set up your account in three easy steps:
1. Open the SimplyE app
2. Find your local library
3. Enter your library card ID to search, borrow, and read!
Don’t have a library card? No problem. Thousands of public domain classics are available as soon as you download the app, no library card required.
SimplyE was created by a partnership of libraries and library consortia across the country, with The New York Public Library currently serving as lead partner. Check with your local library to find out if it offers SimplyE, or download the app now to get started reading from the SimplyE Collection.
What's New in Version 3.4.0
- Fix Santa Clara County Library login issue
- Fix crash when opening audiobooks on older iOS versions
- More localization improvements
Seller
Name
The New York Library Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations
Information
Developer
Categories
Version
3.4.0
Size
49.5 MB
Game Center
No
VPP Device Licensing
Yes
Rating
Rated: 4+
Compatibility
iOS 9.3 or later
Devices
iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPad 2 (Wi-Fi), iPad 2 (3G), iPad (3rd Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad (3rd Generation) (4G), iPad (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad (4th Generation) (4G), iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro, iPad Pro (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch) (Cellular), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (10.5-inch), iPad Pro (10.5-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (11-inch), iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air, iPad Air (Cellular), iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 (Cellular), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini (Wi-Fi), iPad mini (4G), iPad mini Retina, iPad mini Retina (Cellular), iPad mini 3, iPad mini 3 (Cellular), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 4 (Cellular), iPad mini (5th Generation), iPad mini (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (7th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPod touch (5th generation), iPod touch (6th Generation), iPod touch (7th generation)
Languages
English, German, Italian, Spanish
App Store: Customer Ratings
Ratings & Reviews
4.3 of 5 (1,358 Ratings)
App Store: Customer Reviews
2020-07-01
A Great App
Sure it could use some tweaking as others have suggested but this app definitely gets the job done.
I like the fact that the system clock is accessible by just touching the middle of the screen on my iPhone 7. However, when the iPhone is in the new Dark mode, the time and all other system information fails to appear. I’m guessing that in Dark mode those characters turn white making it difficult to see against a white backdround. One small item for the developer’s todo list.
2020-07-01
Love the idea
Love the idea of one consolidated library app. The user experience seems a bit slow and clunky, which would not bother me that much if the functions worked. Downloaded this to multiple devices and still can’t seem to get audiobooks to actually play. Would love an app update fixing glitches.
2020-06-28
So helpful during these times
The app is incredibly helpful to keep reading during these times! It is fairly easy to navigate. However, I’ve been trying to read a very long book for the past three weeks, and for some reason, every time I want to read it, I have to check it out again. It doesn’t stay in My Books for more than a day (often only an hour or so) if I exit the app for any reason.
2020-06-26
How to be an Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi
Ibram x. Kendi,
Thank you for writing, “How to be an Antiracist”, I greatly appreciate this book.
Thank you so much.
Linda Davis
2020-06-25
GOOD SELECTION; DISAPPOINTING OTHERWISE
Many of the complaints I have are already detailed by other users. For a huge public library system like the NYPL it’s hard to fathom why so many basic functions of other e-readers aren’t in this app. One complaint that I haven’t seen in other reviews (though I only read a few) is that I reserved a book that was unavailable for several weeks, and when it finally was available, there was no direct email or message to me other than a little dot showing a notification in the app, which could easily be overlooked. But there was no info whatsoever about how many days I had to claim it. After 2 or 3 days it was gone, back to reserved status again. I also wish there were an option to renew a book. 3 weeks is just not enough time to read very long books, particularly nonfiction. The one I had on reserve is over 1000 pages, and I’d never get through something like that in just 21 days.
2020-06-24
Many problems: pls fix
Honestly, I’ve got a couple problems with this app. First of all, when I’m reading a book, and go to a different tab, and then go back to simplyE, the app restarts and I have to wait for the book to load again. I am using this app to study Chinese and constantly have to look up words or make flash cards on different tabs, so this inconvenience is highlighted.
My second problem, as of know, SimplyE is telling me that I can’t access Brooklyn Public Library cause I’m offline, but I can still access the simplyE books(??). I’ve tried restarting my phone, etc, nothing works. I would reinstall the app, but then I may lose the books that I have checked out.
Lastly, when reading my books, I used to be able to highlight words I didn’t know, but now when I hold down on a word, it doesn’t highlight, and whether it actually lets me see the definition is entirely up to chance
Pls fix these problems. Thanks. This app could be rly great
2020-06-23
HELP
THIS IS SOOOO B WORD YKW
2020-06-19
Decent enough app but some qualms
This app is good and I appreciate the ability to seamlessly get the books without having to download from somewhere else, however it appears unlike kindle I cannot turn off the chapter/page number at the bottom or the banner with the title at the top and it’s very distracting to read.
2020-06-17
Version 3.3.7 on iPad Air2
June 2020
Still the same complaints as below. Nothing changed. A pain in the neck!
Plus one of the books by Henning Mankell “The White Lioness” was from an unfinished translation. It was in different type sizes on the same page and some sentences were incomplete and left blank with many ellipses instead of the words! Who looks at this stuff??
New York Public Library member
Not an app for easy smooth reading. When you do a selection to look up a word the selection box never disappears but stays on the word so you have to reboot the iPad each time. Sometimes selecting a word doesn't get you to look up the word at all and the selection just stays on the word thereby having to reboot the iPad. Side swiping is sometimes so fast that it skips pages and you wonder where you left off. Scrolling would be a vast improvement. Any photographs included with some books are nearly postage stamp size, it would be good to click on it and see a larger image.
I realize that a year ago I made some complaints also. I love the NYPL and the book selection is not bad. And yes, it would be nice to have a list of books already borrowed and a cut, copy, select of books for future borrowing.
I look forward to more improvements.
Added to the above.
I forgot to mention that when I select a word or a phrase it doesn't go to "open, cut, copy, select, look up", or anything like it does on any other text online or email, the selection is ON EVERY FOLLOWING PAGE THEREAFTER unless the iPad is rebooted. Any photos in a book are really small as I stated above. I'm now reading a book by Erik Larson and it has a detailed map of a section of Berlin which is important to the story but is unreadable because of it's small size. That's really unacceptable!
small size.
2020-06-16
It’s a good story on living through grief
Edward, a 12 year old boy, surviving a plane crash, muddles through life in a daze until he finds a constructive way to deal with his grief. This book is well written and has a realistic feel of what it’s like to grieve ( having lost many family members, in a short period of time, myself). The psychology behind a grieving child, is not directly stated, but does touch on the emotions on each stage of a child, tween, teen, young adult; grieving again, yet differently at each stage.
2020-06-16
Great app, but needs improvement
I am a NYPL member and have been borrowing books through this app during the pandemic. I can’t say how much I appreciate the chance to do this! The idea behind the app and the initiatives connected to it are fantastic, period. Still, there are some improvements or bug fixes that I’d like to recommend:
(1) changing the default language of the app messes with the search feature, I think. It shouldn’t.
(2) Add some sorely needed features to the ebook reader, such as highlighting, adding notes, and SEARCHING. Even though some of these features might seem counterintuitive because ebooks are available for a limited period, they’re actually still useful for some (perhaps most) readers.
(3) easy to implement: add a reading history! We want to keep using the app in the long run and keeping track of what we read and when is essential.
Looking forward to giving a 5-star rating soon :)
2020-06-10
Not as nice as Libby
Brooklyn Library has Libby and I syncs my devices so it’s on the correct page whether I use my phone or tablet. Also it dropped my place entirely once and I had to go looking. I couldn’t find a way to go back except by sliding the marker on the bar many times.
2020-06-09
Great then not
I have been reading on this app for a while now and I have really enjoyed it, but then I get on one afternoon and BOOM it’s not working even next to the internet and not letting me get any books etc,
I am really disappointed that this app is no longer working.
2020-06-03
Doing great, just needs a few more tweaks
I love this app and what it represents. I’m so grateful to be able to check out books this way. The reading interface has some good options, but there are a few problems I found that need to be addressed.
Images aren’t always displayed properly. In a book I’m reading now, the images get stretched vertically over a few pages.
Also whenever there is a linked footnote (with an underlined asterisk) clicking it brings me to a page with the footnote text in a minuscule font size that I can’t read. I’d love it to just pop up with a bubble there on the page when I tap it.
2020-06-03
Very Barebones
I love the fact that I was able to join and borrow NYPL books during the coronavirus pandemic without having a library card.
The problem I have is that this app has very barebones features, which makes it difficult to truly take advantage. I am not sure whether this is a private developer or government funded since it’s possible to access multiple libraries in other states. Readers deserve more features. Please study the features offered by Amazon Reader, iBooks, and other similar apps. Think of features people want from the experience of checking our books at physical libraries and create digital features based on that. For instance, there is no way to create a list of books I’d like to read and checkout (which should be able to to let me prioritize the order in which I’d like to read said books). There is no clear way to keep track of anything I’ve read either. There is no way to request that certain books get added to the catalog. The reader itself is clunky — highlighting doesn’t work well, I can’t zoom in/out, the font sizes only have two options, there is no way to take notes (whether typed/written), etc. It would be nice to be able to rate books and post comments for other readers to see on each page to create discussions. Where are magazines, newspapers, videos, periodicals, and other types of content? How come I can’t write/dictate (audio) notes? This app needs more accessibility features, Goodreads, Siri, and IFTTT integration, social sharing (I’d love to tell others what I’m reading!), etc. Get the picture?
The fact that I can sign up to check our books and access them during a pandemic when the NYPL can’t process new library cards on their own website is huge. I want to use this app daily, but it’s very rare that I open it because of these types of missing features, which make the reading experience difficult and often unenjoyable. This app desperately needs major updating. I hope you’ll take this feedback seriously. If you need an experienced voluntary beta tester with 22.5 years of experience, send a DM on Twitter @MashaT22. I would love to help test new features as you give the app a huge new facelift.
Thanks! :-)
2020-06-02
The Torch, The Darkness and the Future!
I’ve always admire Donna Brazile❤️. Thanks for writing this books. I became more familiar with the other three GEMS. You ALL are fantastic.
This books is poignant, revealing and reassuring with choc full of highlights of historic events; inner thoughts and soulful encouraging advice for ALL.
I appreciate the mention of ole papa Joe’s experience at the poll station. He forfeited his ‘OWN’ right to vote given that he was u able to response correctly to the question, ‘How many bubbles are in a bar of soap?’
Do you know answer?
Are ‘we’ still being asked this question-in a different manner?
2020-06-02
Awesome! But an error..
I used this for 4/3 months... And it’s very awesome!! I’m bad at writing reviews so I’m just gonna get straight to the point..
One day, I wanna read Percy Jackson and the Olympians; The Last Olympian. Yeah, I waited a long time, to read it (reread). But once I click it, it said, “Book is —— (I forgot the word) And Cannot Be Read”. I was like, ;-; ....... That kinda drive me mad.. (I don’t have much patience when it comes to books) So I deleted SimplyE then downloaded it again. Everything is normal.. I clicked “Brooklyn Public Library.” Everything is going great! Until. I tried logging in. I typed in my barcode and password, clicked “Log In”.
“Login Failed.
Login Failed
ErrorTitle: Internal server error
ErrorDetail: Internal server error”
I was like... ‘You kidding me? I—I...’ So I tried logging in serval times. Even deleted it and downloaded it over and over again.. Nothing works. By this time, I quit..
2020-05-27
Worst reading app
It does not save your place in the book or even what book you were listening to. Every single time I open the app, I have to find the book in my library, sometimes it is there, sometimes it’s not, so I have to close and reopen the app to get the book to reappear. It’s like a surprise each time. Then it puts you on some random chapter you were on 3 days ago and get to test your memory about what chapter you were on when you last listened. It doesn’t save the speed you were listening on so that has to be readjusted. Do yourself a favor and don’t listen through here.
2020-05-26
Could Use Some Improvements
Overall this app is great!
I wish it did have a way to view history of books borrowed/read.
Also, every time I close the app or switch to another window, my book closes. It’s not a huge issue but it would be nice if the book stayed open even if you switched to another app.
2020-05-25
So frustrating
It was working well enough for a month. And now i have 4 books that I can’t download. I’ve reported the issue numerous times to no avail. Too bad. It was nice to borrow books easily enough in the beginning. Now I’m not to excited to use this anymore.
2020-05-23
Page Numbers Would Be Nice
Page Numbers Would Be Nice
2020-05-18
Could be great
This app does great things. If you like reading on a screen it’s amazing.
Audiobook format is Audibles from 8 years ago, which is fine except the red on black writing is hard to read and the skipping back to past places in the book almost makes me uninstall it until I remember its free. I’ll probably just buy the audiobooks mostly in the future due to this, but minus those glitches it’s great.
2020-05-15
Free to read
I heard NYPL is free for other state residents to read n use online, but now says you must be resident, no more access to other states?? Thanks
2020-05-13
Bugs
I love SimplyE, but there are a few bugs that could be fixed. Sometimes, when I turn a page, I just get the spinny loading thing. Or, a dear favorite of mine, the page will start blinking and I can’t turn the page. It’s especially helpful when I’m reading a battle scene.
2020-05-13
Books keep disappearing
I won’t review the user interface as I’m not too picky when it comes to e-reading. However I’ve already had to download/reserve a book twice because it keeps disappearing from my books. Luckily I was still on the first chapter but it should not be doing this nor should I have to remember my spot and have to flip through multiple times.
2020-05-11
Text size
I was loving this app until the ability to adjust the text size disappeared. Please fix it!
2020-05-11
Why can’t I find my library!
My library won’t come up! I think SimplyE should add all libraries on their app
2020-05-10
Bookmark
Enjoying audiobooks. Wish there was a bookmark feature.
2020-05-08
Lots of Flaws
I hate the limit on the number of books you can reserve and borrow. Considering we r in a pandemic right now we have a lot of extra time. I can finish 5 books a week. I usually buy my books becuz I prefer physical copies but since I don’t have a job rn I find that difficult. Also when I return audiobooks, they show up in my library again making me unable to borrow more books.
2020-05-04
Stealing the Show
I loved this book! Really helpful for those (like myself) interested in producing television. I think I was given such a different education in entertainment growing up. I felt this book gave me a more of a well rounded understanding of the landscape of people that have been producing incredible television.
2020-05-02
Superfluous
Unclear why we need this app?
Everyone has the kindle app and most readers have a kindle?
What’s wrong with Libby- easy to reserve books and sends straight to my kindle - done.
2020-04-28
Nice, but .....
Nice simply app, but when I exit the app OR take a break from reading and come back to the iPad I have to reopen the book. Why not just stay on the page that I left?
It would also be much better if I can see where I am in the book. Seeing just the chapter is not good enough. I need to see what % I am done in the book. I might see Chapter 12, and not know if I have 30 more chapters left to read or 3 more Chapters remaining. It would be great to see something like 20% done or 30% done or 40% done – you get the idea.
Also a history of books that I have read would be very useful. Thank you and I hope to See the app Improve.
2020-04-26
I waited 14 days for my book. I read it once, then the app wouldn’t let me open it again
The title says it all. I would’ve just bought the book if I knew I wasn’t going to be able to access it through the app more than once.
2020-04-19
App not working
Stopped working a few days before my audiobook that I waited 23 weeks for was made available!!
2020-04-15
Love the app
I truly love this app. I love that all I need is my library card and I can get all the books I want right on my phone or tablet. So easy. However since it’s digital you can’t run out of copies and since we’re in a pandemic can you just make all the books available. Stop reservations for a while and just make the entire library available. All of the readers stuck (safely) at home would love to not wait for a popular book
2020-04-13
Disappointed
Every book I tried to read only gives you the first couple chapters
2020-04-08
This App Is Not Working
Little by little, it seems like this app is getting worse and worse. Today, there is no listing of any type in the catalog. It is simply a blank screen. I have the latest version. What is going on NYPL?
2020-04-06
Lost everything in most recent update
I cannot even add my library. All books and reservations are gone.
2020-04-06
Catalog stopped working
The catalog page is now blank. The ebooks that I’ve borrowed are still available to be read but I can’t access any other books at all!
2020-04-04
Not all books displayed
I still need to go into overdrive, cloud library or NYPL website to find ebooks which are not displayed on this app. Otherwise, concise and one step checking of books. But needs to be updated and include all ebooks.
Lost all my books and reservations after the last update.
2020-04-03
Crashes before end of book
Tried three books now...cannot finish because app doesn’t allow me to go past Chapter 10 in all books
2020-04-03
What did you do?
The app was updated today, now I no longer have access to font, text size, background color, bookmarks....
2020-04-01
Can’t figure out how determine how many pages left
I’ve tried a bunch of different things but I can’t figure out how to determine how many pages are left in the book. Mine is only displaying how many left in the chapter, but that’s kind of useless info unless you are reading a textbook and are assigned chapters to read by a certain time. I’m much more interested in knowing how many pages in a book and how far along I am. Is this book a 4-5 hour read? A 6-7 hour read? Will I finish it before it needs to be returned? Of course I’d rather be reading, but I have to work too! Can someone point me to where I change the setting to show pages in the book not just pages in the chapter?
2020-03-29
⭐️
Thank you for this wonderful app!
2020-03-21
Doesn't work
It says I reached borrowing limit. I returned 3 books but still cannot download anything
2020-03-20
Idk y this is an app
Just horrible
2020-03-20
Online glitches for a wonderful service!
Just tried to download a book, but even though I have my card in front of me, the app won’t accept the barcode or the number. Nor is there any way to reset password, which I have forgotten, as I often do. The Library is a wonderful resource, especially now.
2020-03-19
Tweak it!!!
I wish it would save previous books checked out. Also it no longer syncs my phone and iPad.