LibrariesWest provides a single shared e-book service, provided by cloudLibrary. It's free to use with a membership card from any LibrariesWest authority.

Important message for existing Cloud Library users

Following a security upgrade on July 15th you might receive an error message in Cloud Library saying there is a problem with your library card. If you see this message, please log out of Cloud Library and back on again with your library membership number and PIN. If you need a PIN reminder, please go to the LibrariesWest home page, click on 'Log in' and then 'Forgot my PIN'. If you are still unable to log on after trying this please email us at librarieswest@somerset.gov.uk.

Important message for members with a Bournemouth library card

If you have a membership card from a library in the former Borough of Bournemouth (it will be 9 digits long and start with either 06 or 07), from Wednesday 15th July 2020 you will see an error message informing you that there is a problem with your card. Please log off and then back on again with your library card number and PIN. If you don't know your PIN there is an option to reset it here. This change is being made for security reasons and unfortunately will result in any current e book loans and holds no longer being available to you for which we apologise. We strongly advise you to create an online membership with LibrariesWest to continue borrowing e books to avoid any further disruption to your e book account going forward. When asked to choose a library please select 'Poole Central Library'. You can still keep your Bournemouth library card for borrowing physical items from libraries.

How does it work?

Free to use. Check out up to 10 e-books at a time



Borrow e-books for up to 21 days - and return them early or renew (as long as there isn't a waiting list for the title). The option to renew won't appear until 3 days before the return date



Reserve up to 5 e-books at a time in addition to your loans



Choose from over 12,000 titles - including fiction (for adults & children), biographies, history, cookery, travel etc



free cloudLibrary app to your tablet or smartphone - compatible with android and iOS devices, or use the cloudLibrary website if you are using a PC or laptop Download via theto your tablet or smartphone - compatible with android and iOS devices, orif you are using a PC or laptop

No late fees - e-books expire automatically at the end of the loan period unless you have returned them early Top tip - Due to heavy demand you may find it difficult to find titles that are available to checkout straight away. If you go to 'Search', tap on the icon in the top right of the screen, tap the circle next to 'Available Now' and then 'Apply' Cloud Library will only show you titles you can checkout straight away. New titles are added to the collection on a regular basis so keep coming back to see what's new!

Due to security restrictions and limited bandwidth on the public computers and the need to install software it is not normally possible to use the e-book service in libraries. However, you can access them on your own device if the library has Wi Fi.

How to start borrowing - it's easy!

1. You can either use a web browser to access the service or download the free cloudLibrary app, currently available for Android and iOS devices. When setting up the app for the first time you will need to select language, country (UK & then England) and library name (LibrariesWest).

2. Log on with your library membership number & PIN. For a PIN reminder or reset, go to the LibrariesWest home page, click on 'Log in' and then 'Forgot my PIN'.



3. Start browsing and check out titles straight away!

For help or support, go to cloudLibrary Support or send an email

If you have any suggestions for e-books you would like to see in the collection please email us.

We also have a small collection of E Books for Children which are free to borrow.

Stuck for ideas on something new to read? If you have a membership card for Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire or Somerset Libraries why not try Who Else Writes Like - a free resource which guides you towards authors and titles you may not know about! Just log in with your library card number in the box on the right hand side of the screen.