eRead Illinois provides Illinois libraries (public, school, academic, and special) with affordable access to e-books. This shared collection may be a library’s primary e-book collection, or may augment the e-books that a library already offers its cardholders.
Who can join eRead Illinois?
Libraries in the Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS) or the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) may participate.
- IHLS libraries in the SHARE catalog join the cloudLibrary group. Visit https://share.illinoisheartland.org/ for information about joining.
- RAILS libraries and non-SHARE IHLS libraries join the Baker & Taylor Boundless group. Special libraries are eligible for the Boundless group only if they are government or non-profit agencies.
Note: The RSA consortium handles eRead Illinois participation for its members. RSA libraries should not join or renew individually.
How much does it cost?
Your library's eRead Illinois participation fee is based on the library's service population or operating expenditure. See our fee structure for details.
Why join eRead Illinois?
Whether eRead Illinois is your library’s only source of e-books or an additional source of e-books, participation will increase the access your patrons have to a variety of titles.
The project includes a seamless collection development process which includes contributions from participating libraries. The eRead Illinois team is consistently monitoring hold queues to maintain a low hold ratios for to ensure availability of popular titles for your patrons.
The project team provides hands on training to increase expertise through customized instruction and webinar training sessions for your library staff.