Frequently Asked Questions

eLibrary Services is the sole library unit for the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Supporting both L.A. County educators and our internal LACOE clients, we offer professional development and a fully curated downloadable eBook collection with an educational focus. Available 24/7 to eLS library card holders, the Educator Collection offers well-rounded selections of downloadable content, including professional development materials, trending educational titles, narrative nonfiction aligned to state standards, core K-12 literature, and selected adult and teen fiction.

You can apply online here. All full-time L.A. County educators and administrators, and all LACOE staff are eligible for a card.

Your eLibrary Services library card is valid for two years from registration date. If you need us to renew your card, contact us.

Your library ID is the number on the back of your blue eLS library card. The default password for all new accounts is "read." 

Check that you are entering numbers and letters correctly – some library IDs have both. If you still have a login issue, contact us.

We have set the default password for all new accounts to "read" (all lowercase). The "read" PIN/password will work in the eLS Catalog, and with any apps or web platforms we use for ebooks. If you wish to change this default password you may log in to the "My Accounts" page in the eLS Catalog and select "Change Logon." Please note: if you forget your new password, eLS will be unable to retrieve it for you, though we can override it with a new one.

Contact us and we can look up your card number.

Yes, you may peruse the Educator Collection here or via the eLS Catalog. You will need, however, an eLS library card to borrow, stream, or download any materials. 

You must have a card with us to borrow, stream, or download materials from our collection.  

  • The latest in professional development and education
  • Read-alongs and picture books
  • Material in all subject areas: English Language Arts, History, Social Studies, Science, Math, Health, and Performing Arts
  • Recommended literature and award-winning children's literature and young adult fiction
  • Narrative nonfiction
  • Bestsellers
  • Test guides
  • College and Career Readiness

Take a peek at the Educator Collection here.

Our Selection Policy may be found here.

The combined collections contain over 4,000 professional development, literature, nonfiction and fiction titles, and are growing all the time.

You can fill out the Suggest a Title form here. We do our best to meet requests given budget, availability, and selection guidelines. 

You are allowed to check out ten items at a time from either collection (for a total of 20) and the check out period is 21 days for both collections.

Yes, you may return downloaded items early through the OverDrive and Cloud Library apps. Educator Collection items that have been streamed only via the OverDrive platform may be returned from your Checkouts page under Account on the OverDrive web platform. 

Not to be confusing but the answer is sometimes for the Educator Collection (OverDrive), and not at all for the Young Adult Collection (Cloud Library). What you can do on both platforms, however, is borrow an item again if there are no holds against it. 

Yes, you may place a hold on checked-out materials in the eLS Catalog, on either of the vendor's web platforms, or in either the OverDrive or Cloud Library apps. In the apps, be sure to add an email notification address and you will be notified when your hold is available. 

For the Educator Collection, you will want to download the Libby app. If you're a LACOE student, download the Sora app. See the OverDrive download page here.

Can I read eBooks without the apps?

For Educator Collection materials, marked with  in the eLS Catalog, you can stream most of them from the browser without downloading the app. To download to mobile devices, however, you will want to download the Libby app.

Yes. For Educator Collection materials, marked with  in the eLS Catalog, you can stream most of them from the browser without downloading the app. To download to mobile devices, however, you will want to download the Libby app.

Yes. Please see the OverDrive Streaming page for instructions. 

Yes. We offer a variety of workshops on topics ranging from downloading eBooks on your mobile device to 21st century copyright for educators. You can see our current offerings, along with other Instructional Technology Outreach workshops, by clicking here.

We love to hear from our patrons. Please let us know how we've helped, or how we can help, at els[at]lacoe[dot]edu.