Book Borough

Legal

Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: October 21, 2026

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Eligibility & Your Account

  • Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or use Book Borough.
  • New York City: Book Borough provides the Service for use only by persons located in New York City. We may expand the community in the future but our focus upon launch is on delivering a more thoughtful experience to users who reside in or commute to New York City, who agree that any swaps must take place in New York City. If you use the Service outside of New York City, you do so on your own initiative and risk.
  • Account Responsibility: When registering via email or Google sign-in, you agree to provide accurate information and keep your credentials confidential. You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account.
  • One Account Per Person: You may not create multiple accounts, use automated means to create accounts, or access another user’s account without permission.
  • Account Deletion: You can delete your account at any time directly in your Profile Settings → Delete Account. Deletion permanently removes your profile, library, reading notes, and messages.

2. The Book Borough Platform

Book Borough is a local, neighborhood-focused community platform designed to help readers in New York City catalog books, discover fellow readers, and coordinate private, non-commercial physical book swaps.

  • Free & Non-Commercial: Book Borough is exclusively for personal, non-commercial book sharing. You may not sell books, charge fees for swaps, or use the Service for commercial advertising or retail sales.
  • Neutral Venue: Book Borough provides communication and discovery tools. We are not a publisher, bookseller, shipping provider, or party to any transaction or agreement between readers.

3. Community Rules & Prohibited Conduct

We strive to keep Book Borough a welcoming, safe space for book lovers. You agree to familiarize yourself with and abide by the Community Guidelines. You agree that you will not:

  • Harass, stalk, threaten, intimidate, or discriminate against any reader.
  • Post false, misleading, defamatory, obscene, or infringing content.
  • Offer counterfeit, pirated, or stolen books or non-book merchandise or services.
  • Solicit money, fees, personal financial details, or off-platform commercial transactions.
  • Scrape, spider, crawl, or harvest data, member profiles, or book inventories without our written consent.
  • Use the Service to engage in illegal activity.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the security, networks, or servers of the Service.

We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor, review, edit, or remove content or suspend/terminate accounts that violate these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

4. Your Content & License

  • Ownership: You retain full ownership of any text, notes, comments, photos, or reading logs (“User Content”) you post on Book Borough.
  • License to Operate: By posting User Content, you grant Book Borough a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, and distribute your content solely for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Service while your account is active.
  • Content Responsibility: You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to any content you share and that your content does not violate any third-party intellectual property or privacy rights.

5. In-Person Swaps & Safety Disclaimer

Please read this section carefully:

  • Meet at Your Own Risk: Book Borough enables users to coordinate physical book swaps. All communications and in-person meetings, book inspections, and book exchanges occur solely between you and the other reader at your own discretion and risk.
  • Public Places Recommended: We strongly encourage readers to arrange exchanges in well-lit, public locations during daylight hours, tell a friend or family member, and to inspect books prior to completing an exchange.
  • No Verification or Supervision: Book Borough does not screen readers, perform background checks, verify book conditions, or oversee in-person meetups.

6. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with third-party tools to enhance your experience:

  • Book Metadata & Covers: Book search and bibliographic information are retrieved via public APIs, including Google Books and Open Library. Cover artwork and compilations are displayed under fair-use bibliographic reference.
  • GIFs: GIF search and animated media are powered by GIPHY and subject to GIPHY’s terms of service.
  • Hosting & Infrastructure: The Service relies on third-party cloud hosting, database, storage, content delivery, and transactional email providers to operate and maintain the platform. We are not responsible for service interruptions, downtime, or performance issues originating from these underlying third-party facilities.
  • External Links: We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or availability of third-party websites linked through user notes or messages.

7. Intellectual Property & Copyright (DMCA)

Book Borough is the sole and exclusive owner of the Book Borough trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual properties.

If you believe that any material on Book Borough infringes your copyright, please send a written Notice of Copyright Infringement to our designated agent at:

Your Notice must contain:

  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
  • Identification of the material on the Service you claim is infringing, with enough detail for us to locate it.
  • Your contact information (name, address, telephone number, email).
  • A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  • A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
  • A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized representative.

8. Termination & Account Suspension

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to Book Borough immediately and without prior notice if we determine that you have violated these Terms, engaged in abusive or unsafe behavior, or created legal liability for the community.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

BOOK BOROUGH DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY BOOK DESCRIPTIONS, CONDITIONS, OR USER REPRESENTATIONS ARE ACCURATE.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL BOOK BOROUGH BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH:

  • YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE) THE SERVICE;
  • ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY OR OTHER USER ON THE SERVICE; OR
  • ANY ONLINE OR OFFLINE INTERACTION, IN-PERSON MEETING, OR BOOK SWAP ARRANGED THROUGH THE SERVICE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00 USD).

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Book Borough and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, affiliates, and successors in interest from and against any third-party claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and reasonable legal fees arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your communications, interactions, meetups, or swaps with other users.

12. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

Please read this section carefully, as it affects your legal rights:

  • Governing Law: These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict of law principles.
  • Venue: The exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in New York County, New York.
  • Informal Resolution First: Before filing any formal claim, you and Book Borough agree to attempt to resolve any dispute informally by contacting support@bookborough.com with a brief written description of the issue. Both parties agree to negotiate in good faith for at least thirty (30) days.
  • Class Action Waiver: YOU AND BOOK BOROUGH AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms periodically to reflect changes in our Service or applicable laws. For material updates, we may provide prominent notice within the Service or by email. Your continued use of Book Borough following posted updates constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions or feedback regarding these Terms, please reach out to us: