eLibrary

Unlock a vast amount of free downloadable and/or streaming items through the Lorain Public Library System (LPLS).

Our eLibrary collection offers LPLS cardholders the freedom to download and/or stream books, movies, music, magazines and more at no charge, from wherever you are!

Enjoy these services on your computer or compatible mobile device. Most services also offer apps. Get started on your electronic library journey today!

To sign up for a library ecard, click here to apply. To apply for this card, you must live, work, own property or attend school in Ohio. This card provides access to only eMedia.

The digital services LPLS provides are listed in alphabetical order below, and by category in the menu to the left. Clicking on a logo or a bold name will take you directly to the service’s website.

Have a question? Call, email or stop in.

ABC Mouse logo

ABC Mouse The Step-by-Step Learning Path presents the full ABCmouse.com curriculum in a carefully designed program of more than 850 lessons in ten levels. As the child completes each lesson, he or she is guided to the next one and is motivated to continue learning by ABCmouse.com’s Tickets and Rewards System. Notice: Accessible only within LPLS Locations.

African American Hertiage Logo

African American Heritage is a groundbreaking digital resource exclusively devoted to African American family history research. This collection was created in partnership with leading African American genealogists and recognized leaders in genealogical information to develop a comprehensive mix of resources, records, and tools specifically pertaining to African Americans.

American's News Logo

America’s News  Explore and stay informed on local and national topics, people and events in areas such as business, health, education, jobs and careers, political and social issues and more. For more detailed reports, visit Black Life in America, Hispanic Life in America and Asian Life in America. Also available remotely 24/7 on any device.

Ancestry Library Edition Logo

Ancestry-Library Edition provides easy access to more than 4,000 genealogy databases with a single search. *Can only be used on a computer within the library.

Author Check Logo

The Author Check program allows you to view author profiles and track authors. When you track an author, you will receive emailed alerts the next time the library gets a new book in by that author.

BookFlix Logo

BookFlix is an online literary resource that pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction eBooks. Try out these online books for preschoolers through third-graders.

Chilton Library Logo

Chilton Library gives you the detailed information you need to tackle vehicle maintenance and repairs.

Cleveland Necrology Logo

The Cleveland Necrology File contains local cemetery records and newspaper death notices for the following years: 1833, 1847-1848, 1850-1975. A more complete description of the file’s contents can be found in the about section of the database. For necrology information after 1975, please use the Cleveland News Index.

Cleveland Public Library logo

(Cleveland Public Library) — The online Cleveland News Index lists citation information for local news stories, feature articles and reviews from The Plain Dealer (1983-June 1999), Cleveland Magazine (1983-present), Northern Ohio Live (Sept. 1990-June 2009), and Ohio Magazine (Oct.1990 -present). Obituaries from the Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Press are included from 1976 to the present. Please note that this index does not provide full text access to these sources

Consumer Reports Logo

Search Consumer Reports magazine for full text articles from 1991 to the present. Find product evaluations, articles on public safety, health, marketplaces, and legal decisions that affect consumers

Creativebug Logo

Creativebug.com has more than 1,000 award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.

CultureGrams Logo

Since its beginnings in 1974, the aim of CultureGrams has been to foster understanding and appreciation of the world's countries and peoples by creating and publishing concise, reliable, and up-to-date cultural content. Today the CultureGrams series is one of the most trusted and widely used cultural reference and curriculum products in the education, government, and non-profit arenas.

Data Axle Reference Solutions Logo

Data Axle Reference Solutions - Founded as ReferenceUSA, Data Axle Reference Solutions is directory information for 17 million businesses and 320 million consumers. Search for businesses by SIC code, sales volume, number of employees, and more. Search for residence directory information by name, location, or phone number.

EBSCOhost Logo

EBSCOhost - Search thousands of magazines, academic journals, newspapers, reference books, photos and maps on millions of topics.

Explora Primary Schools Logo

Explora Primary Schools - A trustworthy environment for students and educators in grades Kindergarten through fifth grade to look up facts for class projects or homework.

Explora Secondary Schools Logo

Explora Secondary Schools - for grades 6 through 12. A far better alternative to websites and search engines for students to look up articles and facts for research papers or homework.

FamilySearch Logo

FamilySearch adds over 300 million free genealogical records and images online yearly from all over the world and manages the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It has amassed billions of birth, marriage, death, census, land, and court records from more than 130 countries to discover and make family connections. LPLS is a Family Search Affiliate Library. Access to digital genealogical collections that are otherwise not available outside the library are available on public computers. Non-affiliate records are available from home and on WiFi. 

Fold3 Logo

Fold3- The Web’s Premier Collection of Military Records from Rev War to WWII. Historic war records. Documents & photos.

Gale Courses logo

Gale Courses offers a wide range of highly interactive, instructor-led courses that you can take entirely online. Courses run for six weeks and new sessions begin every month.

Gale Legal Forms Logo

Gale Legal Forms provides a wide selection of Ohio legal forms across the most popular legal areas. Includes real estate contracts, wills, pre-marital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant and many others. Also included is a comprehensive attorney state directory and a dictionary of legal definitions explained in easy to understand language.

HeritageHub Logo

HeritageHub - Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 to today. HeritageHub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 states, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900's, and original obituary images. Access is available 24/7.

Heritage Quest Logo

Heritage Quest is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, convenient research guides, interactive census maps, and more.

Hobbies & Crafts Logo

Hobbies & Crafts Source offers detailed “how-to” instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of virtually every hobby enthusiast. Full text is provided from leading hobby and craft magazines.

Home Improvement Resource Center Logo

Home Improvement Source - Through a collection of comprehensive full-text content, this database provides users with detailed, user-friendly “how-to” information covering a variety of home improvement and repair projects.

Hoopla Logo

Hoopla lets you borrow free digital movies, TV shows, full music CDs, eBooks, comic books and audiobooks. Gain access to thousands of titles that are available for instant streaming or temporary download.

Kanopy Video Collection Logo

Kanopy Video Collection - You can now watch over 26,000 films on Kanopy! The variety of films available includes classic films from The Criterion Collection, The Great Courses and PBS. You can also indulge in viewing festival indie or world cinema sourced from award-winning filmmakers. Kanopy makes it easy to watch any time, to share and to discuss films.

Libby OverDrive

Libby, by OverDrive Borrow eBooks, audiobooks and magazines to read on your phone or tablet using the Libby app by OverDrive. You can even send and read your borrowed eBooks to your Kindle (U.S. only)! It’s free and easy to get started for new users and a streamlined experience for current OverDrive app users.

LinkedIn Learning Logo

LinkedIn Learning Choose from thousands of online courses to learn in-demand skills from real-world industry experts.

Morning Journal Logo

Lorain Morning Journal Explore Lorain history through local news, events and people with the Morning Journal Collection with historical archives. Search current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Also available remotely 24/7 on any device.

Mango Languages Logo

Mango Languages is an interactive language-learning platform, offering more than 70 different languages and 18 different ESL courses. Learn real-life conversations with native-speaker audio and cultural context so that you can speak like a local. Mango features authentic content, interactive features, and an algorithmic review activity designed to adapt to your individual learning path. Sign up for Mango with your library card today!

Morningstar Logo

Morningstar Investment Research Center provides independent, in-depth research and recommendations on 11,000 stocks, 24,000 mutual funds, and 950 exchange-traded funds. The format is user-friendly and includes an investment education section

The New York Times Logo

New York Times - Find breaking news, multimedia, reviews & opinion on Washington, business, sports, movies, travel, books, jobs, education, real estate, cars & more at nytimes.com. Click here to receive a code that will provide you access when not inside the library. If you are using The New York Times while inside the library, please click here.

Northstar Digital Literacy Logo

Northstar Digital Literacy - This free set of digital literacy assessments includes self-guided modules: Essential Computer Skills (Basic Computer Skills, Internet Basics, Using Email, Windows, Mac OS), Essential Software Skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Using Technology in Daily Life (Social Media, Information Literacy, and Creative Job Search). Closed-captioning is available and screen readers are supported. At the end of each test, the user receives a page of results, which lists the skills that have been mastered and the areas that need improvement.

Novelist K-8 Logo

Novelist K-8 helps librarians, teachers, parents, and other adults who care about children in grades K-8 find fiction and non-fiction books to read tailored to their reading level and interests. Or, kids can try it themselves to help them select books they will enjoy. Using simple search techniques, find helpful resources such as expert reading recommendations, read-alikes, book discussion guides, thematic book lists and more.

Novelist Plus Logo

Novelist Plus helps readers of all ages or those who help readers find fiction and non-fiction books they will enjoy. Using simple search techniques, find helpful resources such as expert reading recommendations, read-alikes, book discussion guides, thematic book lists and more.

Ohio Legal Help Logo

Ohio Legal Help, provides free information on common legal issues, details about court and other legal forms and referrals to legal aid and bar association referral programs. Spanish version.

Ohio Obituary Index

Ohio Obituary Index - Brought to you by the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, it is an index to over 3,700,000 obituaries, death and marriage notices and other sources from Ohio from the 1810s to the present day. Actual obits may be ordered from over 65 partner libraries; only Hayes Library has online ordering.

The Ohio Web Library Logo

The Ohio Web Library includes: popular magazines, trade publications, scholarly research journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, dictionaries, speeches, poems, plays, maps, satellite images of Ohio, and more.

OverDrive Logo

OverDrive - You can browse through thousands of titles in a variety of formats - eBooks, audiobooks and video. Hold redelivery is a new feature from Overdrive allowing a user to suspend a hold and keep their place in line, even after it's been made available. Please note, OverDrive will be removed from the Apple App Store, Google Play and Microsoft Store in February of 2022. This will not affect any current users. 

OverDrive for Kids Logo

OverDrive for Kids – Find free eBooks, audiobooks, videos and more for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Oxford Research Encyclopedias Logo

Oxford Research Encyclopedias – With today’s overabundance of information, and misinformation, students and researchers alike can be overwhelmed in identifying what’s trustworthy, what’s up-to-date, and what’s accurate. Oxford University Press has invested in the Oxford Research Encyclopedias to meet this challenge. Working with international communities of scholars across all fields of study, we are developing new comprehensive collections of in-depth, peer-reviewed summaries on an ever-growing range of topics.

Plain Dealer Logo

Plain Dealer Explore Cleveland history through current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Also available remotely 24/7 on any device.

Small Business Reference Center Logo

Small Business Source offers exclusive full text for many top consumer small business reference books, as well as tools to address many small business topics. It includes business videos, a help and advice section and details on how to create business plans.

The Shelf Logo

The Shelf is where culture and entertainment meet, streaming audiovisual services in Spanish. Content includes more than 5,000 hours of movies and series, 500 of the most acclaimed operas, ballets and theater plays and a kids’ section with more than 3,000 podcasts, 150 video games and more than 2,000 episodes of their favorite characters.

Transparent Languages Logo

Transparent Languages helps millions learn over 100 foreign languages. Download free language-learning software and start learning a language now.

Tutor.com Logo

Tutor.com Get a tutor 24/7 in 40+ subjects including Math, Science and English. We help thousands of students get better grades every day.

USA Today Collections Logo

USA Today Explore current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Available 24/7 - from anywhere on any device with your library card!

Very Short Introductions Logo

Very Short Introductions - Discover a new topic or subject with these intelligent and serious introductions written by authors who are experts in their field. Brilliant. Sharp. Inspiring. Now online.

United Way: First Call for Help Logo

United Way: First Call for Help - to increase access to a wide range of health and human services in Lorain County, United Way Services' First Call For Help (FCFH) has developed a web-based version of its "Reference" database.

The Wall Street Journal Logo

Access The Wall Street Journal's WSJ.com from anywhere for free! Includes unlimited articles on WSJ.com, e-replica of today's paper, four-year archive/article search and more. To access it on your mobile device, use your browser. WSJ app is not included. Each user must create a free WSJ.com account and account credentials may not be shared. Access is unlimited but must be refreshed every 72 hours.

Weiss Financial Ratings Logo

Weiss Financial Ratings Series gives you the information to be certain you are working with the best and most financially stable organizations with unbiased ratings for life and annuity insurers, HMO and health insurers, bonds, credit unions, stocks, exchange-traded funds bond and money market mutual funds and more. Click here for a list of tutorials to help get you started.

WorldCat Logo

WorldCat - The world's most comprehensive bibliography with 40 million bibliographic records representing 400 languages. Covers information back to the 11th Century. Includes holdings information from the world's libraries.

To sign up for a library ecard, click here to apply.