Frequently Asked Questions

An eBook, short for electronic book, is any type of book that has been made into an electronic edition and distributed in a digital format. Our collection of full-length eBooks includes thousands of classic works of literature, serials, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference works.

No, they certainly are not. eBooks come in numerous formats with many different presentations, features, and accessibility. Many eBook formats permit only single or partial page viewing and do not allow you to change viewing presentation or font sizes. Such formats also typically fail to capture the rich texture, and visual quality of a printed book. Furthermore, many formats also require the reader to purchase costly software or hardware for proper viewing.

To address these common format limitations, the World Library Foundation uses the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) to ensure that each eBook meets our high quality standards while retaining a look and feel comparable to a printed book. Additional advantages of HTML eBook technology include its compact file size, ease of downloading, and ability to be read while disconnected from the Internet. Unlike other formats the PDF works on all major computing platforms using the widely distributed free Adobe Reader 9.0 software. Adobe Reader's prevalence and familiarity of use also increases readership, and eliminates confusion associated with specialized eBook reading software.

By having PDF eBooks we are able to offer unique features such as digital dictionary, digital highlighter, multimedia inputs, digital notepad, Full Text search capability and a special text-to-speech feature that enables users to listen to the computer read aloud any selected text. These features combined with our powerful Full Text search engine cataloging system makes our eBooks an unmatched value that allows users to find what they want, when they want it, in a matter of seconds instead of hours.

The World Library Foundation is body of Members who have access to an international consortia of libraries that share their collections in a single catalog. From the combined works of these consortia, we have created one of the world's most complete collections of eBooks and eDocuments serving the public, students, libraries and educators since 1996.

We offer two types of Membership: an Individual Membership and an Institutional Membership. Both offer access to the world's largest PDF eBook and eDocument collections (+3,000,000 titles) to all members. Each eBook and eDocument has been fully optimized and digitally re-mastered, for the virtual library users. As an Institutional Member, your library patrons will be able to gain complete access to review, read and even download for personal use, any material in the World Library Foundation's vast collection.

The World Library Foundation is the world's largest agitator of eBooks. Founded in 1996, the World Library Foundation is a global coordinated effort to preserve and disseminate historical books, classic works of literature, serials, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other heritage works in a number of languages and countries around the world.

World Library Foundation is a IRC 501(c)(4) Organizations, organized Not for profit, but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare. Our mission is to serve and aid the public, students, and educators, by providing the world's most complete collection of electronic books, documents, and articles online, as well as offer a variety of services and resources that support and strengthen the instructional programs of education, elementary through post-baccalaureate studies.

Access to the complete holdings of the World Library Foundation is open to the general public for personal use. Upon payment of an annual dues of 8.95 for membership, patrons will receive an eLibrary Card allowing them unlimited access to our complete holdings. There are no other cost or fees to individuals for unlimited access. The payment of a nominal dues are needed to defray operating expense, in strict compliance with US IRC Rev. Rule 67-109, 1967-1 C.B.136.

For large groups, educational institutions, or other libraries a substantial discount is available. To inquire about having our titles accessible through your library's portal go to this page to setup a trial to provide access to your patrons.

We offer a multi-language collection of over +3,000,000 eBooks of classic works of literature, serials, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference works in over 200 languages. Our collection of high quality PDF eBooks and MP3 audio books are the perfect resource to support and strengthen research, education, and learning for any individual, library, school, business, or institution.

As a technological leader in Internet library services we will continue to improve our content and features to best serve our members. In keeping with this mission we project our expanding collection to reach over 10,000,000 eBooks by fall of 2015. Other anticipated improvements include a wider variety of copyrighted materials, foreign language materials, sheet music, instructional videos, and an enhanced selection of digital format choices.

World Library Foundation eBooks are a great value that will instantly add over +3,000,000 popular eBook titles into your library's offerings, without the costs associated with purchasing and housing print books. With our eBooks there is no need for shelves, book space, or additional computer resources. Other benefits include not having to worry about re-shelving, delivering, tracking, and preserving printed books, as well as being lost or stolen.

Furthermore, all of our eBooks are available to your patrons from your institutional or personal computer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with value-added features such as text-to-speech, digital dictionary, digital highlighter, digital notepad and a Full Text search capability that makes eBooks a must have resource for your library.

Because the World Library Foundation is a philanthropic organization and not a publisher, our focus is on the needs of our members and not on selling proprietary material. For this reason we have the only comprehensive membership collection specifically designed to meet the needs of the library community. By tailoring our collection and services to meet these needs, we have addressed many of the most common complaints of individual students, teachers and other users of online educational resources.

Most eBook providers sell only individual or small eBook collections and restrict access to only one reader per eBook, and only allowing that reader to view one page, or a partial page, in an HTML frame online. Our collection is different. We offer your patrons complete simultaneous access to our entire collection without any additional cost. This means an unlimited number of authorized patrons can review, read, download, and even print, for personal or educational purposes. The World Library Foundation encourages your patrons to download and use any or all of our collection for their personal use.

By using PDF eBooks with Adobe Acrobat Reader we are able to offer an enhanced reading experience using the most widely used, versatile and well-understood eBook format available today. By using PDF technology we ensure that each eBook meets our high quality standards while expanding eBook capabilities with special features unavailable in other digital formats.

By using PDF eBooks with Adobe's eBook Reader we are able to offer unique features such as text-to-speech, digital dictionary, digital highlighter, digital notepad and a Full Text search capability, and easy download ability with every PDF eBook. These features combined with our powerful eBook Finder search engine allows your patrons to find what they want, when they want it, in a matter of seconds instead of hours.

eBooks fit especially well with any distance-learning program because patrons who may not have easy access to libraries can have the resources of a library from the convenience and comfort of a personal computer. Busy families, professionals, distance-learners, college students, researchers and non-traditional library users can all immensely benefit from having the full resources of the World Library Foundation at their fingertips.

In keeping with our desire to meet the needs of our members we offer full website traffic reports detailing how your institution and patrons use World Library Foundation's materials. We report all circulation statistics using Counter Compliance Statistics (www.projectcounter.org)

Patrons can find our eBooks easily by using our eBook Finder Full Text Search Engine.

We obtain our materials by converting traditional books into eBooks and by accepting eBooks from copyright-holding authors. We also obtain eBooks by accepting materials from participating World Library Foundation consortia members and by making alliances with publishers and other information-based providers. Once an eBook is received it is then enhanced to meet the high quality standards of the World Library Foundation.

The only system requirements are that you can access from the Internet. Please contact Adobe at http://adobe.com for a complete list of system requirements for use of the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system.

Billing Support Hours: 24/7
Email: support@worldlibrary.org

To cancel your membership, login in to your account, go to your Dashboard and select the Cancel membership button. 

When you get a chance check out the video Tutorials section. I believe there is a good one there that will address your How-To question.