Online Resources
Your Library, Online
Your Boston Public Library card gets you free access to hundreds of online platforms, apps, and databases. If you don't already have a card, register for an eCard online to gain access to these resources.
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Browse Most Popular
Books
Start reading with the platforms below or visit our Books page for book recommendations, author events, and more.
Libby
hoopla
ComicsPlus
Newspapers & Magazines
Boston Globe
The New York Times
Wall Street Journal
PressReader
Flipster
Movies & TV
Kanopy
biblio+
hoopla
Skills & Hobbies
Mango Languages
CreativeBug
Headspace
LinkedIn Learning
Job & Career Resources
Explore these platforms or visit our Job & Career Success page for more job and career resources, events, and guidance from our library staff.
LinkedIn Learning
O'Reilly Learning
Google Career Certificates
SkillMill
Vault Career Guides
Learning Express Library
Family & Local History
Get started with these research platforms or visit our Genealogy and Local History pages for more resources and guidance from BPL research librarians.
MyHeritage
Ancestry
Digital Commonwealth
Atlascope
My China Roots
Just for Kids
LOTE4Kids
MakeMake
PebbleGo
Little Pim
ComicsPlus: Children's
Business
Our Kirstein Business Library & Innovation Center (KBLIC) offers comprehensive business tools and services. Start using our most popular business platforms here or visit the KBLIC webpage to learn more.
Morningstar
Value Line
AtoZdatabases
Mergent Intellect
Fastcase
Research
Boston Public Library is a premier public research institution. Visit our Research page for a comprehensive overview of our collections, resources, and services, or get started with the tools below.
JSTOR
Gale Academic OneFile
Newspaper Archive
Credo Reference
Digital Commonwealth
CQ Researcher
FAQs
Using Online Resources
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Each month BPL patrons receive 18 tickets. These tickets reset each month and do not roll over to the next month.
Depending on the length and viewing period of each title, movies in Kanopy will require between 0-5 tickets per viewing.
You can see your remaining tickets for the month in the top-right corner of the homepage.
Note: Kanopy Kids doesn't use tickets. You can access an unlimited number of Kanopy Kids titles each month.
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biblio+ is a new streaming service with a highly-curated selection of groundbreaking films and captivating television, from award-winners and nominees to independent discoveries, thoughtful documentaries, and everything in between. With biblio+, library members have unlimited access to this exciting, ad-free catalog of video content on many devices! All you need to get started is a library card.
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The OverDrive app was discontinued on May 1, 2023. This was our vendor OverDrive's decision, not the Boston Public Library's decision.
We encourage you to make the switch to OverDrive's Libby app, opens a new window.
Here is OverDrive's Libby Help guide for OverDrive app users, opens a new window.
Access to our OverDrive site, opens a new window will remain available.
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You can download the Flipster app from your device's app store. If you have a Kindle Fire, you can download it directly.
- iOS, opens a new window (Apple App Store)
- Android, opens a new window (Google Play)
- Fire, opens a new window (3rd & 4th generation tablets)
Search for Boston Public Library in the app and enter your library card number and PIN to get started.
The app is not required to access Flipster. You may also use your device's web browser to access it.
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When users complete a course using LinkedIn Learning, they have the option to print out a certificate of completion. Currently, user names are not included on these certificates like they were before we migrated from Lynda.com.
The change was unexpected for us, so we're hoping LinkedIn Learning will find a solution. Currently however, names cannot be included on certificates offered through LinkedIn Learning for Libraries.
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On March 2, 2021, we migrated our Lynda.com subscription to the new LinkedIn Learning platform. If you used Lynda.com through the BPL, you should find the experience mostly the same, if not better.
- Current users of Lynda.com will find their course history migrated to the new platform.
- A LinkedIn account is not required to access LinkedIn Learning. Users will still log in with library card and PIN.
- Our Lynda.com subscription offered 7,000 English language courses. LinkedIn Learning will offer 16,000 courses in English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese.
- We are currently seeing an issue in which user names are not appearing on LinkedIn Learning certificates of completion. We hope to resolve this soon.
eCards
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An eCard is a Boston Public Library card that you can sign up for online, opens a new window and which provides access to all online resources, including OverDrive and Hoopla.
eCards are available to anyone who lives, resides part-time to attend school, owns property, or works in Massachusetts.
eCards do not allow you to check out physical items such as museum passes, CDs, DVDs, and physical books. To check out physical items, you need a physical card.
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Register for an eCard, opens a new window if you meet any of the following criteria:
- Your primary residence is in Massachusetts.
- You are living in Massachusetts for most of the year while attending school in-state.
- You work for a Massachusetts employer. Learn more.
- You own property (real estate) in Massachusetts. Learn more.
Other Restrictions
If you are a short-term resident staying in Massachusetts you are not eligible for an eCard. However, you can visit any of our locations and apply for a research card in-person at the Central Library in Copley Square.If you have any other card with the BPL, you are not eligible for an eCard (and don’t need one!)
Children under 13 years of age are ineligible for an eCard due to COPPA restrictions.
If you have any questions about eligibility, please email websupport@bpl.org.
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No. Your physical library card provides all the benefits of eCards plus access to the physical collection, including museum passes.
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Requesting and borrowing physical materials, including museum passes, requires a physical card. eCards can be upgraded to physical cards at any BPL location.
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Our mission is to serve residents of Massachusetts, but we recognize that people who own a residence in the state pay real estate taxes here. If your name is listed on the deed of a residence in Massachusetts, either as an owner or a current trustee of a residence held in trust, you likely qualify for this exception.
If the residence you have in mind doesn't list you on the deed, but is owned by other family members, you likely do not qualify.
Timeshare ownership does not qualify an individual for the property owner exception to residency.
If you're still unsure whether you qualify as a property owner, email us at websupport@bpl.org.
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Our mission is to serve residents of Massachusetts, but we recognize that people who live in neighboring states may pay Massachusetts income tax because they work for an employer in Massachusetts. If your primary place of work is in Massachusetts, that usually means this exception applies to you.
If you only travel to Massachusetts to attend meetings, work with clients, volunteer, or temporarily work at a location in the state, you are unlikely to qualify.
If you're still unsure whether you qualify, email us at websupport@bpl.org.
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