Local library services: beyond the bookshelf and into digital borrowing

Local library services can be useful even when a visit to the shelves is not on the agenda. They include reading and learning materials, internet access, study space and community activities. Many areas also provide mobile libraries or home library services.

Explainer | Sources checked 4 October 2026.

Text version of the diagram: Local library services grouped into print and study, digital borrowing and activities or online resources.

Where to find local library services

GOV.UK's local-library finder covers England and Wales. It points readers towards their local service, where opening hours, membership conditions and the available facilities can be checked. The finder should not be treated as a complete directory for Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The important detail is the local offer. An app or service available through one authority may not be available through another, and membership requirements should be checked rather than assumed.

One example: the City of London's eLibrary

The City of London describes an eLibrary with free ebooks, audiobooks, online newspapers and magazines. Its services include Libby, BorrowBox and PressReader. Readers need a library card number and PIN, and can find joining information through the library's own website.

That is a specific example, not a claim that every British library offers the same apps or publications. The City also explains that its digital services involve outside providers and sets out information about their handling of data.

Local library services: checks before signing up

Look for your local library's membership rules, the digital services it actually provides, and instructions for using your library card with them. If you plan to work in a branch, check the opening hours and facilities before travelling. For a mobile or home service, check the local eligibility and arrangements.

Read the relevant privacy information when using an outside digital provider. Free access does not make all services identical, and a library's own instructions are a better starting point than a generic app recommendation.

This guide describes services documented by GOV.UK and one library authority. It does not confirm availability for a particular reader or branch.

Local library services are not one national catalogue

The government's England guidance explains that library authorities have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient service for people who live, work or study in their area. It does not prescribe one identical delivery model for every authority. Local needs and the balance of branches, staff, digital provision and other services can therefore shape what readers find.

That legal background does not turn an individual app listing into a nationwide entitlement. A useful first enquiry is to the authority responsible for your library service, not an assumption based on a different city's website. The statutory guidance discussed here applies to England; the arrangements elsewhere in the UK should be checked with the appropriate authority.

Digital borrowing still needs a local account

Local library services should be checked before choosing an app or assuming a particular title is available.

In the City of London example, readers use their library membership to access the listed digital services. Libby covers books, audiobooks, magazines, comics and digital newspapers; BorrowBox offers audiobooks; PressReader provides newspapers and the listed magazine access. The library's instructions set out how to sign in and where to ask for help.

Those instructions are worth following before creating additional accounts unnecessarily. The City's PressReader guidance describes a library-or-group sign-in route and explains that a new-user prompt can be bypassed. This is an instruction for that library's service, not a general instruction for unrelated platforms.

Check practical and privacy details together

A local service's catalogue, opening hours and eligibility information answer practical questions. Its privacy notice and the digital provider's information answer another: what happens to data when a reader uses an external service. The City names the providers behind its eLibrary and explains that some data may be handled outside the UK.

Before choosing a service, identify the library authority, check that your membership works with the provider and read its access instructions. For in-person facilities or home services, check the relevant local page rather than relying on this overview. The result is a more useful library card, without pretending that every branch, authority or digital subscription offers the same thing.

Sources

• GOV.UK: local library services, England and Wales
• City of London: eLibrary and online resources
• Government guidance: libraries as a statutory service in England

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If you want a card for research rather than borrowing, our explainer on how to get a British Library card covers the free Reader Pass, the ID you need and how to register.