eRead Illinois

Logo of eRead Illinois, a digital eBook and audiobook lending program.

Schmaling Memorial Public Library provides free access to e-books through the eRead Illinois Program.

eRead Illinois Transitions to Palace Project App       

Introducing the Palace Project, an e-reading experience developed by and for libraries. With the Palace app you have access to the library’s digital collections in one place. Enjoy thousands of free books from the Palace Bookshelf as well as titles your library has purchased through the Palace Marketplace–available exclusively in the app. Download the Palace app for Android or Apple iOS today!

 

The image prompts users to "Download on the App Store," featuring the Apple logo and a simple, sleek design.
The image promotes downloading an app from Google Play, featuring the "Get it on" text and the Google Play logo.

 

Please note that the eRead Illinois Collection is only available through the Palace Project App, which is only available through the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.  There is no web-based version of the collection at this time, although we are told there is one being developed. The eRead Collection is no longer available on Kindle Fire as the Palace App is not available through the Amazon App Store at this time. If, however, your Kindle Fire has the Google Play Store App sideloaded and is able to use Google Play Store apps, the Palace Project app will work on your Kindle Fire, but is not shareable to an Amazon Kids account. 

 

What is eRead Illinois?

The eRead Illinois program focuses on

  • Expanding access to e-books for Illinois residents
  • Training on e-books for libraries to better serve their communities
  • Exploring further opportunities for increasing access to e-books through collaboration with Illinois authors, libraries, publishers, and other organizations

eRead Illinois includes an e-book collection and Palace Project software platform from Lyrasis for RAILS members and IHLS non-SHARE members. Participating IHLS libraries that are members of the SHARE catalog use cloudLibrary.

Nearly 900 RAILS and IHLS libraries currently participate in eRead Illinois on the Palace Project platform, and over 150 IHLS SHARE libraries have joined the cloudLibrary cohort.

The eRead Illinois program also includes live trainings and webinars for participating libraries.

Chicago Public Library has its own e-books program and is not included in the eRead Illinois project.

History of eRead Illinois

In 2013, the Illinois Secretary of State and Illinois State Library awarded a $985,219 grant to the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) and the Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS) for the “E-books for Illinois” Program, named eRead Illinois. The grant program ended in May 2015.

The grant included:

  • An e-book collection and Axis 360/Boundless software platform from Baker & Taylor* for RAILS members and IHLS members that do not participate in SHARE
  • An e-book collection and the cloudLibrary platform for IHLS libraries that belong to SHARE
  • Research into a self-hosted model (second year of grant)
  • Funds for hiring two e-book trainers/coordinators – one for RAILS and one for IHLS
  • Training on e-books for participating libraries
  • A website to include promotional and support materials, and a list of free e-book resources
  • Assistance to participating libraries in promoting the project to their patrons

*The eRead Illinois program for RAILS members and IHLS members that do not participate in SHARE transitioned to the Palace Project platform from Lyrasis in 2025.