PHOTO: Victoria County residents can download the CloudLibrary app to access ebooks and audiobooks from a network of 64 Texas libraries. Image contributed by CloudLibrary.
Victoria County residents can now access more than 237,000 ebooks and audiobooks from a network of 64 Texas libraries using the CloudLibrary app, the newest digital book service offered by the Victoria Public Library.
The library provides patrons with access to digital materials through multiple apps and services, such as Libby and Hoopla. CloudLibrary increases the number of digital books available to Victoria County library card holders by more than five times, representing an estimated $9.4 million value based on the print costs of the new materials.
The library’s digital collection was identified as an important resource during the development of the community-driven library master plan, which was approved by the City Council in April. Last year, library patrons checked out digital materials 37,685 times. The pandemic played a role in this increase, with e-checkouts of fiction titles increasing by 73% between 2017 and 2022.
How it works
The system allows participating libraries to share access to their digital collections. This means that Victoria Public Library patrons can access titles from other libraries’ collections, similar to the interlibrary loan system for print materials.
In addition to providing access to more titles, CloudLibrary is expected to help decrease wait times for digital materials. Just like print materials, digital materials can only be checked out by one person at a time. With CloudLibrary, residents can search other libraries’ collections for titles that are temporarily unavailable from the Victoria Public Library’s digital collection.
Download the app
CloudLibrary is available for download from the App Store, the Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore, and it can also be accessed through a web browser. To learn more, visit www.yourcloudlibrary.com.
For more information about Victoria Public Library programs and services, visit www.victoriatx.gov/library.