Where do I start?ĭifferent libraries offer different digital selections, but most deliver them through the same method: cross-device apps. Good news: We’re here to tell you everything you need to know about digital lending so you can get the darn thing done already. The best thing you can do now is put your name on the waiting list (I know, I know) for all the free ebooks and digital audiobooks you want.

Still, the number and diversity of digital offerings vary from metropolitan to rural libraries and remain limited relative to physical materials - but more on that later. Part of that, some libraries told Mashable, is due to the increase in demand since states issued shelter-in-place orders in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

But while 98 percent (Opens in a new tab) of library systems have closed their doors to the public outside of these essential services, many continue to offer - and even expand - ebook and digital audiobook selections for remote access.Īmong the 2,500 library systems the Public Library Association surveyed (Opens in a new tab) over the last week of March, 74 percent have expanded their online ebook and audio streaming services. Nowadays with coronavirus, public libraries look more like (Opens in a new tab) meal distributors, emergency childcare centers, makeshift homeless shelters, and suppliers of 3D-printed personal protection equipment (PPE). On a typical day, public libraries would encourage you to stop by and browse its aisles, peruse its books, and maybe even borrow a few favorites from the circulation desk.

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