NetLibrary E-Books

Frequent users of the Library's Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) may have come across listings for e-books while conducting a search. These titles can be identified by an icon representing links of a chain found in the lower right hand corner of the search result box, a link to the online material ( Click here to Access this Resource ), and the phrase "1 copy available at Your Library Online in CYBERSPACE" at the bottom of the searh results. Not all materials with the chain icon are e-books; some links lead to websites or other online materials.

For e-books, clicking on the link icon will open a new window showing the requested material at the NetLibrary website. At this point users must log in to NetLibrary in order to view or checkout the book. If you don't have a NetLibrary account you may sign up for one immediately.

To log in to NetLibrary:

  • Click on "Log In" at the upper right hand side of the NetLibrary web page.
  • Enter your Username and Password where indicated.

To create a new account:

  • For users at a Library OPAC:
    • Close the NetLibrary window if necessary.
    • Go to the library catalog's detailed view of the material.
    • click on "Don't have a NetLibrary account? Create one here."
    • Follow the instructions provided.
  • For users at home:

Viewing an e-book online...

  • is essentially the same as looking through a book while browsing your Library's shelves.
  • While you are viewing it:
    • No one else can look at it
    • You can check it out for a longer period (24 hours for ebooks)

More than 6500 e-books are available to Massachusetts library card holders. Access to approximately half of these, including many new, nonfiction titles, is purchased by the Boston Public Library (BPL) for use by all state library card holders. The remaining books are in the public domain, and access is unrestricted.

Should you choose to use one of the BPL online books please note:

  • There is only one copy of each book for the entire state.
  • Only one person at a time may use any book.
  • You may briefly 'browse' a book or check it out for 24 hours.
  • You must have a free NetLibrary account in order to view or check out e-books.
  • When you are finished with an ebook please click on "Close". This will 'return' the book to the shelf for the next user.

Titles available

as e-books include a large number of books on computers, business and economics, technology and engineering, medicine and health, and literature. Also included are a large number of vacation books and "Complete Idiots Guides". Most users to date have accessed e-books for very limited time periods, using them for quick access to reliable online reference and research materials. To facilitate this use your NetLibrary account provides Tables of Contents and Indexes with links, and a powerful keyword search utility. Users may also annotate pages with short, online notes, if desired. These notes are maintained in the users NetLibrary account even after the book has been closed.