Massachusetts Libraries are working together to provide two ways for you to access eBooks and audiobooks: Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA) through the Libby app and CommonShelf through the Palace Project app. You can use both!
About CommonShelf
- Immediate access with a virtual library card that anyone in Massachusetts can get through the app
- A growing collection of 20,000 eBooks and audiobooks with titles in Spanish
- Shorter holds/wait time
- Access to Amazon-exclusive titles, indie publishers and authors.
- Your library purchases eBooks and audiobooks that everyone across the state can use—the same way we share print materials
- CommonShelf is made possible by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Boston Public Library, the Massachusetts Library System and your local library with federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
How to Get Started with CommonShelf's Palace Project App and Get a Virtual Library Card
- Install the Palace Project app available in both the Apple App Store for iOS phones and tablets and the Google Play Store for Android phones and tablets.
- Inside the app, use the “find my library” search function to find “CommonShelf of Massachusetts.”
- Browse the collection until you find a title you would like to read then either “get” or “reserve” that book.
- Choose the option to create a virtual card and then complete the details in the form. You will need to enable the app’s permission to use your specific location, just one time, for the creation of your library card.
- Look in your email for your library card number. You can borrow items using that number and your new password.
Virtual cards can only be used with CommonShelf.
About Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA)
- Access to a collection of 1.6 million eBooks and audiobooks, titles in dozens of languages
- Access all collections with your local library card
- Eight Automated Library Networks purchase titles that are shared across the state
- Read on your phone, tablet, computer, or Kindle e-reader
- Powered by the Libby app
- LEA is made possible by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the eight participating Automated Library Networks (CLAMS, C/WMARS, MBLN, Minuteman, MVLC, NOBLE, OCLN, and SAILS), and your local library with federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
How to Get Started with LEA's Libby App
- You’ll need a library card. If you don’t have one, you can get one right now.
- Install the Libby App from your device’s app store, or visit on the web.
- In the app or your web browser, follow the prompts to find your library and sign in with a valid library card.
- Browse your library’s collection and borrow a title. But – if you don’t see the title you’re looking for, you can use your library card to sign in to another Library Network and find it there.
Need help? See a walkthrough of Getting Started with the Libby App.
Why are Massachusetts Libraries Offering Both LEA and CommonShelf?
The demand for digital content in Massachusetts libraries has risen 73% in just five years. Publisher’s pricing for library eBooks licenses is expensive, placing tremendous strain on library budgets. Massachusetts is now offering CommonShelf to create competition and to give people access to previously unattainable titles.
What You Should Know
Digital titles (eBooks and audiobooks) are more expensive for libraries
Libraries often pay 5 to 6 times the consumer cost for e-book and digital audiobook licenses that, unlike physical materials, expire over time or after a certain number of checkouts.
Buying titles from small publishers and indie authors is often impossible
Often so much money is spent on repurchasing expired licenses for popular authors from big publishers that libraries can’t expand collections to introduce readers to new and lesser known authors.
Libraries can lose access to out-of-print materials
Patrons often rely on libraries to find copies of titles no longer for sale. When the license for an out-of-print e-resource expires, this type of access disappears.
Digital collections are more accessible
eBooks and digital audiobooks are a more accessible option for readers with disabilities, but they often wait in long queues to access this material because libraries can’t keep up with demand.
eBook legislation in progress
The Massachusetts Library Association is working with the legislature to develop legislation that addresses the unfair marketplace and contracting restrictions libraries face when purchasing electronic materials.