User Reviews for cloudLibrary by Bibliotheca

4.73 out of 5

152.1K Ratings

6 years ago, Lapis Luna

Please help

I’ve been loving this app for several months. Recently I’ve become very frustrated by an apparently new glitch; almost every time I stop reading & bookmark a page, I discover that when I return to resume reading the book has frozen at the beginning of that chapter or on that page. I can’t continue reading unless I shut down my Apple phone, the quicker fix, or more time-consuming - delete the entire app & then download it again. That means going to my country & State & re-entering my Library card & also downloading the books again. Luckily, it does then take me back to the place in the book where I stopped reading. However it’s frustrating & time consuming. I love using an app to electronically borrow books from my library. And when I first started using Cloud Library it was so convenient & worked consistently well. Now, it’s just frustrating an unreliable. Please help. PS. I wish there was an easier way to send you feedback when a glitch exists. I talked to the reference librarian at my local library & he too has recently been having problems with this app as well, so at least I know there are 2 of us. Since there’s no way to send feedback beyond this review, I wonder if you even know there is a problem?

1 year ago, Gusano de Libros

Convenient but buggy

Update: I’m lowering my rating from 3 stars to 2 because I see that the issue I complained about previously has still not been fixed. When I am scrolling from page to page through a chapter, the book will suddenly scroll forward several pages, like to the end of a chapter even though I have ten pages still left to read before the next chapter. I described the same problem below, and it still hasn’t been fixed. This is really annoying!!! I have been using CloudLibrary for a few years now, and I was pretty satisfied with it until the latest update a few months ago. When you turned the page in the previous version, it actually looked like a page turning, like on a Kindle, and I really liked that feature. Now it just changes from one screen to another, pretty boring. Far, far worse than that, however, is the way the app randomly skips pages when I am turning a page. I will turn from, say, page 22 to page 23, and all of a sudden, I am on page 35 for no apparent reason. Then, I have to go back and search for the page I was actually on. This keeps happening no matter what book I read. I truly appreciate the convenience of being able to read books for free whenever I want to through my library’s subscription to CloudLibrary, but this weird bug is basically the only reason I am leaving this review. I wish it would be fixed.

11 months ago, Jim Maier

Great app! Feature request?

Overall, this is a terrific app for accessing electronic resources (I use it primarily for audiobooks) available from my local library. Even works well remembering where I left off across multiple devices. Kudos on the app, mostly. Couple of things. Possibly feature requests? 1) Please add to the sleep timer on audio books an ‘End of Chapter’ option. It’s nice to leave off at a chapter rather than just a specific amount of time. As it stands now I have to dive into the chapter list and figure out how much time is left in the chapter and then try and peg it just right at the right time in the sleep timer to be approximately at chapter end. To the end user, there is no reason I shouldn’t also have an end of chapter option. 2) How about a bug report / feature request button in the app itself. There is no way that I can find to report bugs or request enhancements except by writing a review. Plenty of FAQs and the like, but if I can’t find it there, then no other way to communicate with development team that I can tell. Thank you!

6 years ago, Bholla2384

Needs Improvements!

I listen to audio books and constantly have an issue, nearly if not every time I pause the story, that it skips way forward or way back, and I have to spend half my time trying to find where I left off. The options to go forward or back for a larger amount of time are too few and far between, so it is not helpful what so ever. My library went from Overdrive to this app, and I wish I had the other app back. Another complaint that I have is that the selection here was said to have been larger, but I’m not finding that to be the case. The search option requires specific spelling and complete titles, often I’m not sure of. The overdrive app had suggestions that helped me find what I was looking for. Also, this app doesn’t have a full collection of books in series. I could understand not having the lastest book in a series, but often I can ONLY find the latest of a series, which I can’t read bc I can’t find the previous books. It’s very frustrating and I’m disappointed in the app. I don’t have a CD player or tape player in my vehicle at work, so I can’t just checkout from the library. I’m very fed up and frustrated with this app, but I don’t have any other option from my library, so unfortunately I’m stuck with it. If updates become available with fixes to these issues, or if there is another way I can have some of these issues addressed, I’d be glad to receive that info and take it up with anyone who could help. Thanks.

1 year ago, Annoyedwithautoplay

Eh…almost better than nothing

Updated to remove a star, leaving one single star as the rating. I cannot stand this app. It’s garbage. The 4.7 rating is bull and clearly fabricated if you actually look at the five star reviews. Tonight the book blurbs won’t load, nor am I even able to borrow or save any books based on cover/title alone as the borrow and save buttons have completely disappeared. This app is a piece of hot, stinking, mid-summer, humid day, full of rotten meat garbage. Much prefer Libby to Cloud Library. The functionality here is severely lacking. Interface feels outdated and is missing basic things like being able to see that I already checked a book out either from the list when searching or on the details page once you click in to read the blurb about the book. If I hadn’t moved and been forced to use this app instead of Libby by my local library I never would have changed. Wish I could go back to Libby, so much so in fact I’ve started researching where the nearest library that uses Libby is so I can go there to see if I can somehow pay for a guest card or something. Not to mention the catalog of books is much more limited, not sure if that’s my library system’s issue or the app’s issue, but it’s very noticeable. Two stars because something is better than nothing, but there’s a lot of room for improvement here.

1 year ago, 24922:)

Frustrating, slow, and horrid searching

While I enjoy checking out books without needing to travel to the library, the frustrations with this app come very close to negating the convenience. After checking out a book and then trying to download it to begin reading, I often most try many times to get the download to begin. Usually it requires quitting and relaunching the app multiple times and still it takes repeated attempts to download. This is on WiFi or full strength 5G. The search function is horrid. I literally just now searched for a book that I currently have checked out and it says no results found. Advanced search does no better. I can search for an author whose book I have checked out and it can’t find the author, either. If you want to just browse instead of searching and you’re okay with five minutes of frustrating clicking and relaunching to download one book, you might be okay with this app. Trying to quickly select a new book and begin reading or searching for books by a favorite author and this app will have you reaching for your car keys to drive across town to the library instead. More than a year later, searching is still horrible. Searching a database is nothing new. Programmers have been doing it since the 1950’s. It’s a shame that this app is still so bad at it.

2 years ago, Turtlegirl88

Was great, but now getting worse

I love how easy it is to search and borrow books from my library and save titles for later. However, as time goes on the app gets more and more glitchy and works less consistently. Most times it says I don’t have any saved titles though I know I do. Occasionally, my list will actually show up. I have no “history” despite having borrowed dozens of books. And if I don’t lock my screen orientation and I accidentally tip it (from portrait to landscape then back to portrait) I will have lost my place in the chapter and I have to figure out where I was. Or sometimes my scrolling will jump me to the next chapter. It’s getting very frustrating to use this app, which is unfortunate because it used to work better. Please do something to make it work more consistently! Also, I don’t know if this has to do with the app, or how a book is created for it, but I recently borrowed an audio book (it was the only available format for that title) and it had no chapter markings. I would have liked to be able to jump back and listen to certain sections again, but I couldn’t find a way to do that.

4 months ago, Candlefan

There’s something wrong with the app and I can’t get any help from the library

I see a book I want to download but instead of the green borrow tab, there’s a yellow one that says “suggest “ instead. Sometimes another day it’s available but before I can make room to borrow it, it’s gone back to the yellow suggest tab and I can’t have it. The most frustrating thing about this app is often when there’s a series, say 5 books each following interconnected characters, not all the books will be available to borrow. Recently, I tried to read a 6 book series. Books 1, 2 & 3 were available but 4 & 5 were not. The last one, number 6 was there but it’s like trying to watch a movie with just the beginning and end but no middle! It’s ludicrous and frustrating. These are just a couple of problems. There’s more and I’ve contacted my library, but nobody got back to me as promised. I called them last week when I was having trouble and was told I had too many books checked out because the limit was 4. If you know anything about the app, the checkout limit is 5! How can the library personnel not know something that basic and if they don’t know that, how can they help me with complicated issues?

11 months ago, Violett 💜🦚

Thank you times a million!

My old car had a CD player. I checked out audiobooks from the library all the time for long commutes and visits to friends in other states. After a while, I noticed my options were dwindling. When I got a new car, it didn’t have a CD player. I freaked out and bought a portable one so I could listen to my audiobooks. Then, I learned about Cloud Library. It’s amazing!! The selections are endless, including new releases. I just check out and download a book through the app on my phone, and it plays in my car! I don’t have to worry about changing CDs or remembering where I left off. It’s all right here on my phone! Sometimes I even listen when I’m not driving. Listening to audio books allows me to double or even triple the number of books I consume. The fact that I can listen for free with my library card is amazing. I’m so so grateful for Cloud Library and for all my local Columbia County (Florida) library branches and the wonderful people who work in them. (Special shoutout to the Ft. White branch. That place feels like home when I walk in.)

3 years ago, murry1898

Thoughts

It would be nice books would be available sooner. Particularly, nonfiction. Many of the books, particularly the technical nonfiction books are in smaller print which is more difficult to read, particularly for an older person. I really like to read the books on electronic devices because the print can be increased in size, back lighted, listened to as well as read and displayed on a TV screen that is really excellent when you want to exercise on an stationary bike or elliptical. The ability to read, listen and copy specific memorable phrases or sentences help enable the memorization of certain facts. I would like to see an approach with the cloud reader similar to the samples offered in the Kindle software. I usually same a book on the Kindle and then download it using the Cloud Library. I can’t afford to pay for all of the Kindle versions or I would probably do that. Anyway, I love the Cloud Library and think that the Auburn Library does an excellent job of selecting newer books. Appreciate much. Regards, Terry Johnson

6 years ago, Sailing Chic

I am reading again!

This app has helped me read books again. For a few years now I have been so busy and cannot find time to read. With this app I can! Now I download audio books (for free) to listen to while I drive in the car or in my headphones when I walk or if I am waiting at the doctor or for a meeting or out walking. This is great, because I have books on my mobile device that I always carry- I always have books with me. I also download books to just read on my mobil device and I don’t have to worry about late fees. My elderly mom who was an avid reader but has had eye problems of late is now able to “read” again too, because of the audio books. All this takes is a library card. So simple. The only downside is sometimes the audio versions of a book I want are not available, so I have to get the digital one and I have to stare at a screen to read & that I cannot do while I drive, workout or walk. More audio versions would be nice if possible, please!

4 years ago, Nuttymomo

This app needs serious improvements!!!

I was forced by my library to switch from Overdrive to Cloud Library. It's just not the same or as good. I can't find as many books as I used to. The search results are awkward and take up too much space to scroll through efficiently. And if I look at a book and go back, it puts me back to the beginning of the list and then I have to scroll back through to see where I left off - very time consuming. The sleep timer does not work anymore - it used to but something happened (a bad upgrade perhaps?) and now it never works. With the old app (Overdrive), I could easily -- EASILY -- scroll back 30 minutes by touch because you scrolled through chapters. This app, that scroll is for the whole book so you scroll back a little by swipe and you've going way too far. Forget going to the chapters and finding where you were. So finding your spot again is a difficult, near-impossible, colossal waste of time, so much so that I often find myself buying audio books rather than listening to them on here, even if they're available -- for free, mind you. This app is so non-user friendly that I prefer to pay for books rather than get them for free. Read that sentence again.

1 year ago, D. Boogie

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell

I teach English Language Arts to students in the 4th grade of life. The reading theme, this lesson series, just happens to be about survival. O’Dell’s award winning novel of the coming from school age to a strong resilient young lady, “Kranna;”that was left on an island off the Santa Barbara coast of California to fend for herself is incredible! This Is truly a realistic nonfiction account that has my public charter students, in their own urban insular enthralled in reading a book. Sharing that if we can survive like Kranna nothing can stop us. CBS, 60 minutes, grants my class a text to text (media) reading comprehension connection. Finally what’s your island of spirit animals? My wife’s would be giraffes, she loves them. Mine are whales. Whenever I’m taking a certification test or something I close my eyes for a second and explain the question to the whale in his habitat, the ocean, the amusement peers when the orca reply’s “what’s a question?”

5 years ago, smithchuck2

I hate this app. Not user-friendly, it’s user-hostile.

I just started to read a borrowed library book in the app, but have paused my reading to come here and give it a one-star rating. I find the interface confusing, buggy, and (compared to the far superior Kindle app), also less attractive (though the difference is subtle). It took me a few tries to figure out how to simply highlight a passage, and another few tries to figure out how to delete the one I highlighted incorrectly. Once I did that and returned to the page, the “deleted” highlight was still there, until I closed and reopened the book. I have memberships with a few local libraries, and I ALWAYS look for the ones that work with the Kindle app, and only use CloudLibrary when I have no other option. It’s a frustrating program. 8/7/19 update: The app is *slightly* less frustrating than it was when I wrote my original review in 2018. Some of the glitches I reported to their tech support over a year ago are still there (e.g., highlighting text is confusing, often difficult, and the interface for doing it is ugly and breaks conventions). It’s still far inferior to the Kindle app and I still will try to avoid library books which require using this app.

4 years ago, Emiwieg

Unstable app

I have used this app religiously for years; I use it on one of my devices daily. I usually love this app, especially because at least for my library, there are no monthly limits on borrows. However, in the past 1-2 months, I’ve had more problems than not! It won’t recognize that I have books checked out, when I know I do. I’ll check the history, and it’s blank; I check for my saved books (easily over 200 of them) and it will tell me there are none. Generally I have uninstalled/reinstalled (annoying but simple) the app, and it’s fine. Today I kept getting a (new to me) error that I wasn’t connected to the internet when I can see my WiFi signal has full bars and other devices (tv) are clearly connected. I disconnected WiFi to run off 5G and had the same “no internet connection” error. I even deleted and reinstalled the app, and when I tried to sign in with my card number and PIN, got told it was “unable to log me in”. Why has this app been so unstable lately? PLEASE fix this as this is my primary distraction during “stay at home” orders!

9 months ago, Ben Cumberbatch

Endlessly frustrating

I previously said the app was barely acceptable and gave it two stars. But the more I’ve used it the worse it gets. I now give it 1 star and would give it zero stars if I could. It frequently has the extremely annoying habit of opening to the first page of a chapter or several pages before the point I left off rather than the page on which I left off, forcing me to page through the chapter to find my place. This requires me to highlight a portion of the last text I read or bookmark the page to ease finding my place. To make matters worse, when clicking on highlighted text to delete the highlighting, the trash can icon, which is black, is invisible when the iPad is in night mode because the background of the trash icon is also black. If the highlighted text is at the very top of the screen, it is impossible to delete the highlighting until you change to scroll mode and move the highlighted text away from the top. Also, occasionally turning pages (back or forth) jumps several pages rather than just one. Changing between portrait and landscape mode screws up pagination.

4 years ago, QFlower08

Glitchy and frustrating

I’ve been using this app for a few years. Only recently, the app gets quite glitchy. It shuts down in middle of the book. It skips pages, some time, the entire chapter. When I turn the page backward to re-read a name or place, it would jump to a different section/page entirely, so I have to search for current page. Last but not least, when I click on footnotes to read, there’s no way to go back to the page I was reading, so I have to either bookmark (or do the old fashion way of remembering which page I was on) before checking out the footnote. This gets quite cumbersome when there are a lot of footnotes. Grrrh. Very frustrating. I wish this app would link with the kindle app, so I can borrow books then read on my Kindle. Reading on kindle is less distracting than reading on the phone. Some libraries use the Libby reading app, and the Libby app link with Kindle app, so I’m able to borrow and read with my Kindle. Very convenient. Highly recommend Libby app, instead of this glitchy Cloud Library. I’ll have to report to my current library to see if they can change platform!

5 years ago, 82948294

I’ve removed the Cloud Library app

I’ve only tried to read two books on Cloud Library and gave up on both. I can see why it has a shorter wait list for downloading a title. The first book had problems with turning the pages. It would look like the page was turned, but it would still be the page I had just read. If I used the table of contents, I could jump to a new chapter, but on short order, if not immediately, that would lock up. I tried opening and closing the book, removing and downloading it again, but nothing worked. On the second book, I had much less trouble with freezing. It had a problem that is becoming increasingly common in various apps. A lot of different things are activated by tapping the screen, and it’s hard to predict what will happen. On the second book, when I swiped the page to turn it, as often as not, what happened is that the gray top and bottom menus appeared and cut off most of the page. I got so sick and tired of constantly having to get them out of the way, that I returned the book when I was about 20% finished. I removed the app. I’m going to get hard copy when my only other option is Cloud Library.

6 years ago, CRichardsMN

Buggy for kids books

This app is great for kids books from the local library, but many other of them are formatted such that they would require adjustments. Sadly, the controls are mostly unresponsive - moving pixels at a time... needs major help... Updated - still a mess for many kids books and adjustments majorly lacking. Trying to get to the “hidden menus” are painful at best. Put a button on there, geez... Also, please put a restart button or auto rewind after finishing the book - anyone remember VHS? Yeah, try explaining it to a toddler and that “we can’t read that book anymore because you can’t get to menu to go back to the beginning” - even after returning and reborrowing it keeps its place... App also regularly crashes on books over 20 or so pages and it can’t ever keep track of preview thumbnails. I mean seriously, 6 books all labeled differently and have the same book cover and content as the one that is opened first when app is launched. Only way to fix it is to return and redownload the book. Wouldn’t use this app if it were a paid app, only use it because I haven’t found another app to access local library content. Downgraded to 1 star.

6 years ago, numbekrsnutz

Wonderful Ebook app

This app was specifically designed for libraries at no charge to them or library patrons unlike Kjndle/Amazon which does charge libraries for the use of that app. This helps to reduce the cost of ebooks to public libraries enabling them to purchase more hard copy books and ebooks. No, I am not a librarian, just a huge book lover who reads anything of interest and have done so for many, many years. I have found this app very easy to use and I am 71 yes. old who still reads actual books but large print books in libraries do not include a large selection due to their higher cost. This app allows me to read new books via my tablet and still allows me to check out hard copy books, too. Unlike Overdrive, there is a far greater selection of books available through this app which I, for one, really appreciate! Thank you, 3M, for creating this app for our public libraries!

4 years ago, TNTgal

New Update Ruins Reading Experience

I’m someone who’s willing to pay foe good apps, so maybe the fact this one is free tells you how little support there will be. The recent update (September 2020) has made this almost unusable on the IPad. It switches back and forth between light and dark background. It routinely loses track of the last read location, meaning the reader has to recall and move around each time the book is closed. And an annoying popup window appears every 3 to 8 minutes asking if I want to go to the “last read position” . Bad bad update. As of 1/3/21, I learned NEVER to update this app and without reading what happened to others. The new update apparently causes lots of people to lose their history or otherwise render the app useless. Not sure how the developer gets paid (maybe library license fees), but they’re clearly not a shop with a good testing protocol. Though my old version still has the September bugs and annoyances, at least it still works. NEVER update this app until you check to see how what havoc the newest release has created.

4 years ago, OdysseyNNYer

New app change to BOOKMARKS is terrible!

I would have given thus app a 5-star rating BEFORE the recent major update. My biggest complaint is about a feature I use constantly - bookmarks. They no longer appear at the top of the page unless you tap the center of the page first. Why that extra step??? Now if I go back a few pages to look something up, I can’t just easily navigate back to the bookmarked page. I have to tap in the center of every single page. So stupid. Even worse, when you tap on e page it frequently advances forward or backwards and you can’t tell where you are since there are no bookmarks anymore. And when I open the book I have no idea if I’m on the right page or not because I don’t see my bookmark. You used to be able to simply tap the top right corner to place a bookmark, and now you have to go through the extra step of tapping in the center and then tapping on top, and then, instead of being rewarded for your effort by a bookmark showing up, you still have to keep tapping the center to see it. And it just makes the icon black so it isn’t even an obvious bookmark like before. Please make it the way it used to be where you can just tap ONE TIME in the upper right corner, and then leave the darn bookmark there so we know it’s there!!! People who actually read books regularly on this app are the only ones who should be allowed to mess around with it. I also want the brightness adjustment within the app.

1 year ago, Loretta.

Really don’t like the update….

I have been using the Cloud Library app for quite a while and found it pretty user friendly. This latest update, however, has removed some of the features that I found most useful. With the listings of current, history, holds, and saved books now side-by-side, when there are three options for what to do with the book, the third one is no longer directly accessible. Takes longer to get things done. The number of books on hold or checked out is no longer at the top of the list. You have to count them individually. Also, the history of books previously checked out is now very limited instead of a complete history. This very much defeats the way in which I use the history in conjunction with the saved list. Seems like the programmers don’t actually use this app. Lastly, the new “kids mode “ is really annoying for those of us who have no children using this app. There should be a way to easily hide or turn it off.

6 years ago, PaulaKfromMapleGrove

Frustrated by bugs

I have used this app for over a year and had been completely satisfied with it. However recently I’ve experienced an issue with moving from page to page. Sometimes the last line or two are missing from the bottom of the page and I have to fool around with it before it shows up. At other times I flip to the next page and it’s clearly not a continuation of the previous page so then I have to go back several pages and subsequently move forward to try to resync the pages. It’s very annoying and it goes without saying that this is basic functionality that is key to a reading app. Please please fix this!!! I have an updated iPhone 6. Update: several months later I continue to periodically have problems with this app. Right now I experienced an issue where I cannot turn the page in the book I’m currently reading. After trying different workarounds I deleted the app and am going to reinstall it. Why does this continue to happen with this app? I understand that it’s free, but I expect better if I’m going to use it and recommend to others.

4 years ago, Cravinchoc

Glitches in new update are driving me crazy

I have been using this app for the past year or so and loving it! Especially during Covid when our library has been closed. But a new update just came out which had a lot of promise. But it’s been glitchy and it’s driving me crazy! I’ll be reading or listening to a book and it interrupts me with “we’ve book marked where you left off, want to go there?” I say “no” because obviously I’m reading or listening where I want to be. But today it kept interrupting and giving me this same message over and over. Also, it switches between “scroll” mode and “flip/turn pages” mode on its own while i’m reading and then freezes. I have to close the app altogether and reload in order for it to correct. Then it does it again a bit later. Please developers correct these glitches!

4 years ago, readpressure

Fingers Crossed

My rating is based on comparison to software I use which costs money or if free is older version of tried and true software. Anyhow heres hoping version 5.0.7.5 I just downloaded for use on new ipad fixes at least most of bugs/problems associated with earlier versions ( i.e recently installed version 5.0.6.5 actually more frustrating than earlier versions—kept forgetting current position in book when I closed and later re-opened book; often forgot who I am and required repeated log in; often opens with tiny font size different from my selected font size and will not accept changing font size when that happens; occasionally would open and then immediately shut down; and so on). Could eventually work around some bugs (i.e. disconnect from internet and open book “offline” to work around open/shutdown bug ). Earlier versions prior to 5.0.6.5 would go hours refusing to open at all. Maybe covid has driven so many people to online library that system is overwhelmed?

6 years ago, aFewCatsShort

Poorly-Designed User Interface and Functionality

Suddenly the eBooks from my library are available only in this format, rather than Kindle. It was okay, definitely not great, for the first couple books I read using this app. But the search capability isn’t very useful, and the text selection ability is awful (I still haven’t been able to get copying to work at all, or to highlight or look up more than one word at a time). Now I’m trying to read a publication that has copious footnotes, which I would dearly like to read. Although they appear as blue superscript numbers, they aren’t active, i.e., you can’t tap on a footnote number, read the associated footnote text, and return to where you were in the main text. No, you have to set a bookmark for the first page of notes at the end of the book, activate the menu, select Notes/Highlights, and then navigate through to the desired numbered footnote. And then, it seems, you have to navigate, via the Table of Contents or the bottom page slider, back to the page you were previously reading.

4 years ago, meiper2000

Great, but frequently glitchy.

I love the vast selection of books and seeing some of my favorite series on here, however I constantly have issues with this app crashing immediately on launch, not letting me borrow books due to system errors, and it not keeping the proper page when reading. I often find that if I leave a book and come back, even for a short second, it will lose my page and move to the beginning of the chapter(sometimes even doing so when I accidentally tilt my phone to landscape mode) and sometimes it will skip pages when I try to turn them, moving to the next chapter instead. However, this app is a great system that has a good variety of books, and once they work past these errors, you will have an app on your hands that competes well with any e reader programs.

5 years ago, MDC6554

SO Frustrating!

I was so disappointed when our library chose this app to offer its members. It was not user friendly, was unwieldy and no where near as enjoyable read as Libby, the previously used app. But lately this app has gotten to be so awful it’s almost to the point of me giving up. 2 out of every 3 books I download ends with an “error in downloading” and I don’t even get the book I had been waitlisted for. Sometimes the pages won’t turn or they turn but return to the same page over and over. I’m trying to read a book now where every time I get to one particular page the app just shuts down. I’ve tried powering down and reopening and sometimes that helps, other times it makes no difference. I read 2-5 books a week so to not be able to use this app is highly frustrating.

5 years ago, KordtsReviews

Horrible after update

I used to love cloud library, but after a recent update it no longer functions. Way to ruin a great app! It took me several tries to even find the list of ebooks from my local library and now the ebooks won’t download at all when, before this update, they downloaded easily. Also the new app deleted my user history including a carefully curated list of books I intended to read. The app supposedly has more features after the redesign (and it may have more features that I don’t use or care about) but the features I always used and loved now don’t work. The new app also offers many books that aren’t available at my library. It’s a frustrating waste of time to browse through books, see something that you like and then be presented only with the options to “save for later” (whatever that means!?!) or “suggest” (I don’t want to be the collection curator for my local library. That’s what I count on librarians for!) The interface is counter-intuitive and hard to use. What a horribly stupid update. Please restore the functionality of the previous version ASAP.

5 years ago, csFStPMN

Will you please fix this app?!

Updated after iPhone upgrade: I just did the upgrade on my iPhone 6 and app won’t even open. So sorry I upgraded as now I can’t listen to my checked out audio books. Please get your developers working on bug and performance fixes. This app is a disappointment! I mainly use the iPad version and am displeased and frustrated with it, especially the new UI. History does not work. The biggest frustration is that every time I stop reading at book mid chapter, when I reopen the app it goes back to the beginning of the chapter. I thought a work around would be to set a bookmark before I closed the app, but that doesn’t work because the bookmark takes me to the beginning of the chapter. Earlier versions of this app did not have this problem. You need to deploy an emergency bug fix release soon as you’ve made this an unusable tool for reading ebooks from my library and I’m sure they are paying lot of money for their ebook subscriptions.

1 year ago, happy😋😋

Pretty good

I absolutely loved this app and would have given it five stars until about a month ago. I would try to borrow a book, but it would either say “error” or load for so long that I would just quit trying. And by the way, it’s not that I already had three books and hit my max, but I had ZERO books already checked out. And if I managed to get a book to download into my library, it would just be loading forever until I made it stop. So I tried deleting the app and redownloading, but when I opened it I had to go through the login process again. I put in my language, country, state, and library, hit next… the terms and conditions came up as a blank page, with no next button or anything. I have been trying and trying to even login, but that’s kinda hard to do when you can’t get past terms and conditions.

6 years ago, Ochrequills

Handy, and improved

I employ this app often as I am passionate about audiobooks. I listen to one to three books a week. Availability of books is dependent on the library of course but I do like the ease in bookmarking books while listening. I have learned how to program my preferences in browsing and have them remembered-note: you have to hit “star” icon. This app used to be a little buggy but it has improved dramatically. I do like that there are no extra steps between borrowing and downloading books. I can find out that a book is available to download and just immediately download the book, I don’t have to go to the web based account to connect a loan to the app (which is required by another app). There is a drawback to this app in adjusting listening location mid chapter but this is a pretty minimal issue. Glad to be able to use this app through my library.

4 years ago, yolaleah

Unreliable

A decent enough reading app but it’s wildly unreliable. Recent updates actually took away functionality that I was using - like the ability to lock rotation. Why on earth would you take that away? Also the Library Message section now always had an exclamation point/notification, even though there aren’t any library messages. Also the fun new thing it started doing with the last update is not returning to the last page you were on and instead returning to the beginning of the chapter you’re on. Every now and again, it un-downloads my books, won’t actually return or renew items after I tap on the option to do so. It’s buggy and I really wish the library I paid taxes to used Libby bc that app isn’t nearly this unreliable.

9 months ago, Cloud Ears

My Time With Cloud library

I have immensely enjoyed using Cloud Library. It helps me pass the time when I have things to do during which I am able to listen to something interesting- e.g. while driving, cleaning house, working on art, exercising, etc. While there are many titles, I would like to see many more. I enjoy mystery series, but often find that you do not offer the earliest installments. I don’t start a series halfway through, say, with book 5 out of 10. I also like biographies, but I am dismayed that there is not a balance between those about persons on the left and right of the societal mindsets. The bios about the more conservative persons are quite lacking, and those are the ones we hear the least about in ‘popular’ media. I would have more books to choose from if these suggestions were met with such books.

3 years ago, Mommy123456

Update

May 2021 Just updated and they still haven’t fixed the page numbers!!! That being said- I still use the app to read every single day. Have been using it for years and reading amazing books for free! Just please fix the page numbers!!!, April 2021 New update made the pages all wrong - fix that! There still is no lock for the screen orientation and I really miss that. As for the basics, I can borrow books for free. There are tons of choices in all sorts of genres. What more could you want! Sept. 12 There’s been another update. There’s still no screen rotation lock, which I used ALL the time. You still can’t see how many pages are left in your chapter. Summer: I’ve been using this app for many years. I’ve had no problems with this app until now. I’m very disappointed with this update. They’ve removed the feature where you can lock the screen rotation while reading. Every time I open the app and my book, I have to find the page where I left off despite having bookmarked the page. The indicator that I have a new message never goes away no matter how many times I open it and read the only message there from 9 months ago. I gave this update one star since giving zero isn’t an option. FIX THIS!

3 years ago, GR8CYCLE

Walking books

I listen to books while I walk. Not especially happy to exercise, but I want to listen to the next chapter, so I walk. Before I know it, 30 minutes is gone and my walk is over. I never thought I would like to “listen” to books being read, but love it now. I can sew or cook and still listen. Love holding a book until I used this app. Being able to adjust the font size and having it lit up makes it so easy to read at night in bed. No more heavy books on my lap. Best of all the books are FREE from the library. Some books may not be available right away, but placing a book on hold is easy. It doesn’t take long before the book is available. I always suggest the app to friends in hopes they will enjoy it as much as I do.

4 years ago, zzzzxxxxjhjggp

Good, but...

So, I don’t usually write reviews, but this is bothering me a bit. CloudLibrary is a great app, it’s free (yay!😌), and easy to use. There are a few glitches that have occurred recently, like where when I first download the book and start reading, the first few pages are normal, but then the pages after them are blank. Luckily, if you click out of the book, and click back in, it works. There’s another glitch where some books only have the option to suggest and save for later. It made me very disappointed when this happened with a book I had really been looking forward to reading. Please fix, if possible! 🙃✌🏻 EDIT: For some reason, it’s now working, sooo...🤷🏻‍♀️ Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Otherwise, this is a great app!👍🏻

4 years ago, stoneumbrella

Good App

Overall, this is a great app. It is a fantastic resource in these times of the pandemic. As a free library reader, it solidly does the job. I do find it frustrating when features are taken away in a way that removes the option to use it the way it was before. Tying the brightness to the device brightness probably sounded like a good idea. However, now the lowest setting is at least 5 times brighter than I used to use (low system beightness combined with low app brightneds). It would be better if when the developers change a feature, they need to add a setting to allow the old functionality. How about a prompt or setting that says ‘Would you like to tie the brightness to the screen brightness?’. Then, if I say yes, fine. If I say no, let me use the original functionality which was working fine for me.

5 years ago, Cadencemom806

Not impressed

I am not impressed with the Cloud Library app. I have it up to date and on an up to date iPad. Sometimes it refuses to load. Sometimes it seems to forget I’m halfway through the book and sends me to page 1, so I have to hunt for where I left off. I can’t just pick up with a book I was reading on my iPad with my phone because it doesn’t seem to be able to translate locations. I uninstalled it and reinstalled however I continue to have issues, including new ones such as being able to see a book I have checked out listed in My Books, but not being able to open it, it taking 45-60 seconds for a book to open (gets stuck on the three bars loading symbol), and the latest - I tried to return a book and twice got an “unknown error” message. This is just so sad to have experienced six or seven distinct errors in a single app. The only reason I keep using it is because it’s the only way I can check out digital content from my library.

3 weeks ago, Jeslive

4.7 stars…NO WAY

Compared to using Overdrive, kindle and Apple Books this app is the worst! I’ve tried getting info how to read in whole screen and can’t find info. I want to browse and topics too broad or not what I’m looking for. Browsing, I still have children’s books on screen I have to scroll past every time when all I want are books in certain genres for adults. Borrowing books is limited and often there are more audio books than to read. I don’t listen to audio books. There doesn’t seem to be large print which they used to offer. I know you can increase print size but it doesn’t show as much print as lg print books used to. The reading options are limited compared to the other apps. Granted, this is the app I have to use to read my library loans so I shouldn’t complain, but I wish they still used Libby. Please make it better!

4 years ago, RLT23

Latest Update DO NOT UPDATE

My C/L just updated on my iPad Pro and It is the pits. I have been trying to find help And nothing. It is as if they are avoiding me. And they should be - it doesn’t scroll, change pages, have page numbers at the bottom, have a scroll bar at the bottom - all the things I liked about the program. It scrolls endlessly down and you have no idea of where you are or what page you are on and the it seems to jump around and you have to hunt to find where you were. My wife was going nuts. I finally went too an older iPad that is too old to be upgraded, thank the gods, and it is back to the older app. It is great. Exactly what the app should be, before they started messing with it. It was such a great app. Please roll everything back.

4 years ago, enviro larry

Cloud library

The new version of cloudLibrary put up some weeks ago is awful. You can never get back to the page you’re reading. The screen sometimes appears in small print with a different background color than that with what you are normally reading. And finally when you swipe to turn pages sometimes you canMove an unknown number of pages and you have to search to get back to the location you were reading. Most irritating. A considerable dis-improvement from the previous version. Furthermore I read books off-line. I don’t see the need to be irradiated with radio frequency radiation while reading a book. Once downloaded I want the book to be readable off-line with all of the reader features working.

1 month ago, ilkjen

Libby is Better

My local library announced they are moving from Libby to CloudLibrary. I’ve been using Libby for 4 years and luckily I can still use it with a second library card I have because it’s far superior to CloudLibrary. I use it almost exclusively for audiobooks though I have borrowed an ebook or two. So here’s what I’ve learned trying to use CloudLibrary that Libby does exponentially better: 1. The search feature. Not only is is super fast, but it isn’t stingy on what you can and cannot type in the search box. 2. As you’re reading, Libby tells you what your progress is as a percentage. So when I’m updating my reading trackers it’s a simple task. With CL you have to calculate your own progress. 3. Libby lets you tag books. I can have multiple wish lists, tag whether I liked a book or not, etc. your CL lists are Saved, Holds, Borrowed. Super helpful. 4. The sleep timer in Libby has an option to stop at the end of a chapter. CL doesn’t. 5. Libby let’s you send ebooks to your Kindle. CL makes you read the ebook on your phone. Or an iPad I suppose but most use Kindle for ebooks. 6. The overall user experience and interface is just better. Feels like a modern app instead of something you would’ve seen 15 years ago. CL is dated. At this point, I will now use my secondary library exclusively. CL is too frustrating and clunky. It has a loooooong way to go before it becomes a contender for a Libby alternative.

4 years ago, Ktours

Scrolling & pages

I too have used this app for years and have been very pleased with its ease of use. That is until the latest version came out. It no longer has pages listed, only chapters, the bookmark doesn’t take you to the exact spot in the chapter, there is no option to choose side “tap” vs. “scroll” when moving forward or backward. “Tap” now takes you to the next chapter or back to the previous chapter. To make matters worse, the last three times I opened Cloud Library it immediately shut down. I guess that solves the other problems because they never come into play anymore! My pet peeve with “enhancements” to perfectly working apps is that they are never a user’s choice, just a developer’s whim. I’ll probably move to Libby or one of the other apps. Bummer!

5 years ago, cbell0730

Love it, but experiencing problems

First I want to point out how much I LOVE the idea of this e-book library, it’s so so so great. However, the app has been glitching for me lately. I borrowed one book that I got quite invested in, but it would never remember the page I was on when I reopened the app even if I bookmarked it. I got tired of scrolling through literally hundreds of electronic pages to try to find where I was and I eventually gave up on finishing the book. Other books seem to be working better, but there have been a couple times where page turning didn’t work at all; it would show the animation, but remain on the same page. Fortunately, turning my phone off and back on has seemed to correct this issue so far. I have a new iPhone XS, so I’m not totally sure what the problem is. Again, I LOVE this app, and have used it for years now, but lately it’s not performing well at all. Pleeeease either fix or let me know that I’m just technologically illiterate! 😂

4 years ago, tmesis6

False “furthest point” pop-ups

Its location tracking is poor. After a restart, or even just after not using the app for a few hours, it opens to the start of the chapter I’m reading instead of to the page I’m reading. If you take it up on the offer to go to your furthest point read, that is where it takes you - or to the last page of the previous chapter. And right now it’s popping up dialogue boxes to take me to my “furthest” point about once every 30 seconds, making me hit No over and over, which is so annoying that I’m here writing my first ever app review. It normally does this every now and then - but it’s gone into overdrive. Fun times! Also, I don’t know if it’s how my local library did their set-up, or if it’s inherent in the system, but I was reduced to scrolling through their entire catalogue of several thousand history books, because there was no meaningful way of refining my search to my more specific areas of interest.

2 years ago, Fed Up in Sarasota

Too many iseues

I would like to rate this app 5 stars but the bugs keep showing up and I am about ready to give up. I like the ability to filter search results and the ease of checking out or returning a book, but the core job of the app is to read books, not try and find where you were when you swipe to go to the next page and end up a chapter plus ahead and all you can do is swipe backwards and hope you recognize the page you were on last. Or everytime you open a book, it gets to the start of the chapter you were reading but not the page you were actually on and while you swipe page by page, suddenly the 1st issue happens and you are a chapter ahead. I have reported my problems to the library and they have tried to help but so far nothing has worked, including deleting and reinstalling the app. Please fix this problem!! Thank you.

2 years ago, mixedupfiles

Horrible reading experience, nothing to recommend

If I could give this app 0 stars, I would. I’ve updated, reinstalled it, and it makes no difference. CloudLibrary is, by far, the worst reading experience I have ever encountered, and I’ve read on hoopla digital. The glare cannot be contained, the text options are limited, and there’s no margin spacing. The real reason this app deserves zero stars, however, are the skips. I touch to turn the page (which is a nightmare, even when it just turns one page, if it turns), and it skips forward or backwards, randomly. This does not remember where you are, and when you close the app/webpage and bookmark it, even, none of that exists when you reopen. I spend at least twice as long trying to find my page (which takes forever) than I do reading, and that’s not an exaggeration. I spent 20 minutes this evening trying to find my page. My bookmark was not where I placed it (believe me, I double checked). It is nearly impossible to track where you are in the book. Each time I’m forced to use cloud library (when there is no other option but to buy, and usually I buy) and I say to myself, “Surely it will be fixed this time…” but no, it’s never fixed. What a terrible app for reading this is. It may be fantastic for everything else, but I’m a reader, and I can’t believe my library replaced overdrive with this monstrosity.

4 years ago, JeniShe

Mediocre app

I much prefer when my library used Libby. Right now it’s showing like 90% of the books on hold. There’s no way!! And they all (or mostly all) will be available in 2 days. Also, like others have said, it doesn’t remember where it left off and so I have to try to find where I last stopped. So many glitches over the past few years and changes to things that don’t need to be changed!! Please fix this hold thing!!! I’m going to uninstall and reinstall to see if that helps 🤷‍♀️. If I don’t change this, it didn’t work. BTW, I’m not at all a complainer, but I love my audiobooks!!! The fact that these are free to listen to is why I didn’t go below three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Update: It didn’t help and I forgot to include that I have my search settings set to only show available titles, but it still also shows ones on hold. Unless that’s just a part of this glitch.

Description

A must-have app for library users! Easily borrow physical items using your mobile device, receive reminders, manage receipts and discover new digital content all within the cloudLibrary app! Extremely intuitive, all it takes is a library card to login and get started! Designed for an enjoyable experience, users can benefit from many new features, depending on their library’s subscription. - Easily accessible library card, which conveniently displays when you’re near the library - Switch accounts with ease and manage multiple library cards from one mobile device - Download and enjoy free eBooks and Audiobooks - Keep track of your physical and digital library activity in one place - Receive helpful receipts, due-date reminders and packable checklists - Visible push notifications alert when hold items are available - View upcoming library events and programs - Checkout print items at your library using your mobile device - Fun and loveable customizations include Themes, Avatars and Nicknames For libraries that have a subscription to offer eBooks and Audiobooks: - Customize your homepage bookshelves to display your preferred genres - Simple interface makes browsing and saving titles a breeze - Filter content by format, availability and language to display exactly what you are looking for - Mark titles as favorites or read to help with literary conversations with friends - Sync digital content across multiple devices to easily pick up where you left off - View current books, full reading history, items on hold and saved titles in one place - Sort titles by name or author to easily find what you’re looking for - Receive reading recommendations or view additional titles by author or series - Select font size, margins and background colors to create your preferred reading experience - Search eBooks for a particular phrase to get back to that one spot you wanted to reference - Bookmark pages and add notes if needed - Return titles early when you’re finished and make available for other readers Elevate your library experience today with the cloudLibrary app!