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Joint Catalogue & Database Search

Ebooks & Downloadable Audiobooks

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Paid for by VPL

A leading provider of web-based digital, technical, and business reference content, containing thousands of digitized "best-in-class" reference books, research reports, documentation, and articles.

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Paid for by VPL

Provides access to hundreds of downloadable digital full-text e-books. Includes classic literature, reference, scholarly monographs, literature, and fiction.

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A collection of almost 1000 reference eBooks on a wide range of subjects including health, business, biography, the arts, multicultural studies and much more. You can search full text, up to date, authoritative reference sources. Includes encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, travel guides and more. Some chapters are downloadable in PDF format.

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Available via the Internet

The International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL) is a collection of over 4000 historical and contemporary children’s books in more than 50 languages (including bilingual books) from around the world. Titles must be read online for copyright reasons, but the site is designed specifically for children and is very easy to navigate. They also provide an application for use with iPhone and iPad.

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Available via the Internet
Free Resource

The Internet Archive (IA) is a non-profit digital library offering permanent access to collections of digitized materials, including books (more than 250,000 texts from Canadian libraries), websites, audio, and moving images. The IA also provides specialized services for the blind and other persons with disabilities. EBooks can be easily downloaded in a variety of formats including ePub, PDF, Daisy, Kindle and DjVu.

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Library Card and PIN needed
Paid for by VPL

A great selection of popular fiction and non-fiction ebooks (EPUB & PDF) and audiobooks (MP3 & WMA) are available through BC Libraries: Your Library Without Walls. Titles can be downloaded to your computer and transferred to a portable device. Check your ereader or player for compatibility.

For more information, see our FAQ, or use the Getting Started section.

Get the Overdrive Media Console app and download EPUB and MP3 files direct to your iphone, ipod touch, ipad, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile Devices.

In order to borrow eBooks and Audiobooks, you will need to use a library card from the city in which you live.

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Available via the Internet
Free Resource

Project Gutenberg is a collection of more than 32,000 free eBooks in English and other languages. Most of the items in this collection are the full texts of public domain books. All eBooks can be easily downloaded: choose between ePub, Mobipocket, HTML and simple text formats.

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Paid for by VPL

An online collection of talking picture books for children to use by themselves or with an adult. Makes reading a multi-sensory experience with text, animation, music and narration.

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Library Card and PIN needed
Paid for by VPL

Offers a wide variety of online readalong children's and teen novels. Special features include narration, sentence highlighting, page turning and book marking. For intermediate, middle school and high school students.

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Due to provincial funding cuts, we have cancelled several electronic resources. Can’t find what you need? Ask a Librarian or try our list of alternate resources.

Electronic resources are restricted by license agreements to Vancouver Public Library card holders and to on-site users for purposes of research and private study. Commercial use and systematic downloading, copying or distributing of information are expressly prohibited. Users are individually responsible for compliance with these terms.

Key to Availability and Login Requirements

Check to the left of the database title to see where you can access this database and what login information is required.

Library Card and PIN needed Library Card and PIN needed
Available at VPL branches Available at VPL branches
Available via the Internet Available via the Internet
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For help with our electronic resources, email eresources@vpl.ca.

For more information, contact:
Online Information & News
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604-331-3603
james.bond@vpl.ca