State Library of North Carolina
Every resident of North Carolina has free access to a statewide library system run by State Library of North Carolina. With a local library card, students, parents, and teachers can use research databases, ebooks and audiobooks, and learning programs at no cost. Here is what is available and how to get it.
North Carolina public libraries at a glance
Research databases: NC LIVE
NC LIVE is North Carolina's free statewide research service.
Resources students can use inside NC LIVE include:
- Research databases: articles, ebooks, video
- Magazines & newspapers
- Test prep & language learning
- Homework help & genealogy
- Grow with Google courses
Ebooks & audiobooks: NC Kids Digital Library (statewide children's ebooks & audiobooks via OverDrive/Libby); local Libby & Hoopla, free with a library card.
Early literacy programs
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is now available statewide in North Carolina, mailing a free book each month to children from birth to age 5.
Accessible reading & talking books
Students and family members who cannot read standard print (because of a visual, physical, or reading disability such as dyslexia) can get free audiobooks and braille through NC Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, part of the national NLS network and its BARD download service. The North Carolina Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (Raleigh), an NLS network library, serves residents who can't read standard print.
Find a library & get a card
Use the official locator to find your nearest North Carolina public library, hours, and how to get a card. Find a library →