By Siobhan O’Leary

Library service provider DiViBib has released a new free Apple iOS app that will give readers access to a 2,000-title mobile library of German books.

According to the Börsenblatt, users who download the free Onleihe app from the iTunes Store will have access to the e-book collections of more than 200 libraries in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Once the lending period comes to an end, the user’s license expires and the title then automatically becomes available for the next download.

DiViBib developed the Onleihe model not only to give libraries a way to retain customers and attract younger ones, but in order to provide publishers with an opportunity to expand their presence in the digital marketplace. The ultimate goal is to provide customers with easy, free access to digital media via the homepages of participating libraries.

These include the Stadtbibliothek Paderborn, the Stadtbücherei Augsburg, the Hochschul- und Landesbibliothek Fulda and the Stadtbücherei Göttingen, along with the larger library networks Nbib24, ThueBIBnet and Muensterload.de.

An Android version of the app should be available in the coming months.