Keep your personal library together
A digital bookshelf is a record of your books, not necessarily somewhere to read an ebook. Burrow gives your collection a personal home on iPhone. It tracks the books you read elsewhere; it does not supply ebook files or play audiobooks.
Start with one book, not your whole house
Choose a book you already own and add it with catalogue search or manual entry. Check the title, author and edition before saving. A matching cover is useful, but the page count should match your copy if you plan to track progress by page. You can start with the book beside your bed and add the rest later.
Burrow also offers book recognition. Review suggested matches before adding them: recognition needs an internet connection and may miss a book or choose the wrong edition. A shelf photograph is optional, not a requirement for building a library. It sends the photo to remote processors after your explicit choice; read the processing and retention details before using it. Manual entry remains a useful alternative for an unusual or unmatched edition.
Separate ownership from reading progress
Owning a book and finishing it are different things. Keep the books you want to read, the ones underway and the ones finished recognisable in your library. Collections and tags can give a growing collection smaller, useful groupings. Prefer labels you will actually look for—“book club” or “borrowed”, for example—over a system you have to maintain for its own sake.
Here is a small starting workflow, not a customer result: add one unread book, add your current book, then add one you finished. Check that you can find each again. On your current book, record your real place rather than marking the book finished just to tidy the shelf. A reading journal can preserve the thoughts that do not belong in a progress number.
A shelf you can recognise
The illustrated shelf is another way to see a personal collection, not an ebook reader or a lending desk. The preview above shows the newer presentation. It is not an add-to-save demonstration of the currently downloadable build.
When a dedicated catalogue is the better choice
Published by Burrow. This alternative is based on Libib’s public plan information checked on 20 October 2026, not our independent hands-on test.
If the task is managing patrons, circulation or a shared multi-media collection, compare a library-management product. Libib’s published plans include a free personal catalogue and paid lending and patron tools. Those are legitimate reasons to choose it rather than Burrow. Our reading tracker selection guide separates cataloguing from journalling and reading routines.
Before you build your library
Burrow is for iPhone, requiring iOS 18 or later. Do not choose it on the assumption that it provides a web library, Android app, Goodreads import, export or multi-device sync; these are not promised here. Saved records live on your device, so consider your device backups. Device-local records do not mean catalogue searches, recognition or purchases never use remote services.
Release note, checked 20 October 2026: Apple’s public listing reports version 1.0. Version 1.1 has been submitted for review, not confirmed publicly available. New note-editing, history-editing and expanded insights interfaces are not promised here as available in 1.0.
For a social reading catalogue instead, read the Goodreads alternatives comparison. For a closer look at the app, return to Burrow’s overview.
A paid subscription or lifetime purchase is required after the library preview. Current plans and any eligible offers appear in the app before purchase.
Source and release check
Product scope: Burrow on the App Store, checked 20 October 2026. Listing text may describe newer features before the binary is publicly available; the release note above limits this page’s claims.