State Library of Pennsylvania (Office of Commonwealth Libraries)
Every resident of Pennsylvania has free access to a statewide library system run by State Library of Pennsylvania (Office of Commonwealth Libraries). 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.
Pennsylvania public libraries at a glance
Research databases: POWER Library
POWER Library is Pennsylvania's free statewide research service.
Resources students can use inside POWER Library include:
- Britannica School Elementary
- Gale In Context: Middle School
- ProQuest SIRS Discoverer
- POWER Kids & POWER Teens portals
- AP Newsroom
- Transparent Language Online
Ebooks & audiobooks: POWER Library E-Book Collection (EBSCO, Gale, ProQuest); local Libby/OverDrive, free with a library card.
Early literacy programs
BookFlix (Scholastic) pairs fiction and nonfiction video storybooks for Pre-K to grade 3 through POWER Library.
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 the state talking-book library, part of the national NLS network and its BARD download service. Two NLS regional libraries serve Pennsylvania: the Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians (LAMP) at the Free Library of Philadelphia (eastern PA) and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped (western PA).
Find a library & get a card
Use the official locator to find your nearest Pennsylvania public library, hours, and how to get a card. Find a library →