E-books and Digital Media
Browse our huge collection of e-books, audiobooks, video, magazines, and music. All you need is a Worcester Public Library card to borrow these items. Check out our brochure or scroll down for detailed descriptions, help pages, and instruction guides for each of these resources.
Access |
Titles |
Loan Length | Renewals | Returns | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Read/listen/watch on your computer or device |
10 10 Holds |
1-3 weeks for books + audio, |
|
Automatic + early returns |
|
Watch on your device, computer or TV |
9 tickets /month (Unlimited in Kanopy Kids) |
72 Hours |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Read/listen/watch on your device, computer or TV |
4 /month |
3 weeks for books + audio |
n/a |
Automatic + early Returns | |
Freegal more... |
Listen on your device or computer |
3 downloads /week unlimited streaming |
Unlimited |
n/a |
n/a |
*Libby app, by Overdrive does not support video and is not supported on Amazon/Kindle devices
**if no holds on title
New to e-books and audiobooks?
Borrow an E-reader or a Playaway from the Main Library
Borrow e-books, audiobooks, magazines and video
- Instructions for e-books: All Devices | Nook | Kindle e-reader | Fire Tablet
- Instructions for Audiobooks
- Guided Tour: online tutorials
- Overdrive Help
- Important update: Overdrive app was discontinued on May 1, 2023, switch now to Libby app!
Borrow e-books, audiobooks and magazines (Libby app by Overdrive)
Libby, by Overdrive, is an app to read and listen to books on your phone or tablet. Read about Libby app here. Go to your app store on your handheld device to download the app.
UPDATE for Amazon Fire tablet users - Libby is now available to download from the Amazon Appstore.
Stream Video
Kanopy is a dedicated video streaming service featuring movies including independent and world cinema, documentaries, instructional films, TV series and many other genres. Over 30,000 films are available including selected content from prominent producers such as Criterion Collection, Great Courses, BBC and PBS.
- Videos can be viewed on a range of devices by downloading the appropriate app
- Watch on your TV with Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV or Roku
- Receive 9 tickets/month to stream titles with your Worcester Public Library card
WPL users receive 9 tickets/month. Most titles cost 2 tickets while major studio titles cost 4 tickets. Tickets for episodic content, including The Great Courses, vary based on total running time. Ticket-free content is labeled as 0 tickets. Users can conveniently view the required number of tickets and the duration of their access on the title's details page before hitting the play button. Kanopy Kids content is in its own section on Kanopy and is not part of the ticket system.
Borrow movies, TV Shows, music and audiobooks
Hoopla, a Netflix-like service for library card holders, allows you to stream and temporarily download movies, music and TV shows, on demand and for free through the library. Content is always available without waitlists. No queues. No late fees. Instant access. Automatic returns.
- Access Hoopla through your web browser or download the app to your handheld device
- Limit : 4 items a month, resets 1st of the month
- Check out: e-books - 21 days, movies & TV: 3 days, music: 7 days, audiobooks: 21 days
- Learn how to use hoopla on your TV: Airplay, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Android, and Roku
(You need to create an account first by clicking on Sign Up.)
Internet Explorer no longer supports Hoopla. If you are running a Microsoft operating system prior to Windows 10, it is recommended you use a different browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox.
Download Music
This music download service offers hundreds of thousands of songs in the Sony Music catalog. You can download three songs per week to your computer and then add the songs to your personal music player.
NEW! You can now stream unlimited songs from freegal!
Read Freegal FAQs to get started.
Web-Based E-books
Tumble Book Library offers a collection of animated talking picture books, language learning books, puzzles and games, read-alongs, and audiobooks for preschool and elementary aged children.
You can download the app in Play Store for Android or App Store for iPhone to access books on your device.
Teen Book Cloud offers graphic novels, young adult books, Shakespeare plays, graphic novel adaptations of classics and more. No wait times, all items are available to read online anytime!
Infobase e-books offers web-based versions of outstanding print reference books on a fully cross-searchable platform.
LearningExpressLibrary e-books include career guides and study aides to help you prepare for licensing, certification, and competitive entry level exams to advance in school or your career.
Free E-books and Audiobooks
- Classic reader: free, registration required
- DigitalBookIndex : 165,000 e-books, etexts...
- Google Books: millions of books to preview or read
- Internet Archive : e-book, movies & music
- ManyBooks.net: over 50,000 titles
- Online Books Page
- Open Library
- Open Square
-
Project Gutenberg: over 60,000 e-books for downloading