The Palace Project, an audio and ebook app for libraries, moves to nonprofit Lyrasis The Palace Project — a mobile app and digital platform that provides ebooks and audiobooks to more than 700 libraries  — is changing ownership. Co-created by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Lyrasis in 2020, the app will now […]

This year’s Independent Publisher & Librarian Forum (affectionately known as IndieLib), was a resounding success! Hosted by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and the Independent Publishers Caucus (IPC) and held at New York University last week, IndieLib 2025 convened librarians, independent publishers, and thought leaders from across the country for a unique opportunity […]

Reflections on the latest DPLA LibLearnX 2025 Session This is a guest post authored by DPLA Curation Corps lead, Jaena Rae Cabrera. As librarians, we’ve been alarmed by the rise in book bans in recent years. Book bans seek to silence black, brown and LGBTQIA+ authors and erase stories that educate and empathize with other […]

We are excited to announce that the second annual IndieLib Forum for Independent Publishers and Librarians, co-hosted by Independent Publishers Caucus and DPLA, will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at NYU’s Engelberg Center. See below for details and registration link. INDIELIB 2025 Independent Publisher & Librarian Forum Hosted By: Independent Publishers Caucus & […]

A Year-End Note from the Staff of DPLA Here at DPLA, we are capping off an eventful 2024 and looking forward to an even more momentous year to come. We’re reflecting on all we’ve accomplished this year. Here are some highlights: Turning the page on ‘24, writing our new chapter in ‘25 Look for a […]

Readers across the country can now access banned books for free via the Palace app Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and our partners at Lyrasis have made over 1,300 titles that have been removed from schools and libraries available to all Americans for free through The Banned Book Club, available on the Palace app […]

This is a guest post authored by DPLA Curation Corps Team Leader, Georgia Westbrook. Librarians and other information professionals are key to keeping the doors to knowledge – both in person and on the internet – open for all. That’s why DPLA created the Curation Corps, a group of 12 former and current librarians and […]

Dear friends of DPLA,  We’ve had a busy summer at DPLA, as we make the turn into fall I wanted to share an update on all the things that we’ve been up to. At our Community + Open Board meeting in July, we shared an update on our process for selecting a long-term home for […]

Digital Public Library of America and Independent Publishers Group have partnered to rewrite the future of providing ebooks to benefit libraries, authors and readers alike Chicago, August 13, 2024 – The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Independent Publishers Group (IPG) have announced a groundbreaking agreement that will transform how American libraries provide access […]

Last month, I joined friends and colleagues from around the country at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference. Yet again, DPLA helped co-host the day-long ALA Ebook Interest Group meeting, now affectionately known as “ALA Ebook Friday.” My own day got off to a wild start. While surfing early that morning, I was stung […]

DPLA will be at the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego later this month and we hope to see you there.

Our award-winning Banned Book Club will continue to highlight brilliant and beautiful works being taken off library shelves Last July, DPLA launched the Banned Book Club to ensure that all readers have access to the books they want to read. The Banned Book Club allows readers in communities directly affected by book bans to access […]

The history of book bans is the history of the fight for power. We know that, time and again, book bans seek to specifically and disproportionately silence black, brown and LGBTQIA+ authors and stories. While book bans continue across America, DPLA is proud to be part of a group of leading libraries committed to counteracting […]

Please join us for the first IndieLib Forum, an exciting new event that will bring together libraries and independent publishers. In recent months, DPLA has been working closely with the Independent Publishers Caucus to explore ways that libraries and independent publishers can work together for mutual benefit.  To further this work, we will co-host IndieLib […]

Library lovers and self-published authors have a lot in common—they share a passion for books and reading and a desire to democratize access. For many years we at DPLA have heard interest from librarians in acquiring self-published titles. But because the corpus of self-published titles is so vast, deciding what to include in a library collection can feel like an overwhelming task to busy library selectors. When DPLA added our Indie Catalog, with nearly 500,000 self-published titles, to Palace Marketplace last year, we set out to alleviate this burden on libraries by creating Indie Selections, our own selections of self-published titles, carefully curated by our Curation Corps of librarians. 

As 2023 draws to a close, I want to thank each of you in DPLA’s ebook community for your continued support of and enthusiasm for our efforts to expand access. 2023 was a year of great growth in our ebooks work, and I wanted to reflect on some of those highlights with you: 

When the conversations that resulted in the birth of the Digital Public Library of America in 2010 began, it was with the belief that everyone should have access to knowledge and that the transition to digital should expand, not limit, that access. More than 10 years later, these principles are still guiding our work, despite the big shifts we’ve witnessed in our field and across our nation.

Since 2017, DPLA has been helping libraries meet the growing demand from readers for ebooks and audiobooks by working with publishers to provide licensing terms that help libraries maximize access and get the most out of their dollar. While the variety of options and licensing terms we have developed have been well received by our partners, they still do not allow libraries to own digital content outright, the way they do physical books.

Palace Bookshelf provides free access to more than 19,000 ebooks. To access Palace Bookshelf, just download the free Palace e-reader app for iOS or Android and choose Palace Bookshelf as your library. You can also browse Palace Bookshelf here. All Palace Bookshelf e-books are free to download and yours to keep.

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of Chicago Library to expand The Banned Book Club. We launched The Banned Book Club in July 2023 to ensure that every reader in communities where books have been banned can access ebook versions of banned titles for free via the Palace app. This new collaboration between DPLA and the University of Chicago Library will expand access to The Banned Book Club to all readers in Chicago and the state of Illinois and underscores our shared commitment to ensuring intellectual freedom for all.