What is the eLibrary?

The eLibrary is the virtual library of the Goethe-Institut. This service allows you to borrow digital media, such as ebooks, audio and video files, and electronic newspapers and magazines, for a predetermined period of time, by downloading them from our eLibrary. <div style="background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='150' height='150' viewBox='0 0 150 150'%3E%3Ccircle cx='75' cy='75' r='69' opacity='.25'/%3E%3Cpath d='M75 5a70 70 0 1 0 70 70A70 70 0 0 0 75 5Zm0 137a67 67 0 1 1 67-67 67 67 0 0 1-67 67Z' fill='%23fff'/%3E%3Cpath d='m63.271 40 31.152 35-31.152 35-7.694-5.833L78.91 75 55.577 45.834 63.271 40Z' fill-rule='evenodd' fill='%23fff'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");background-position: 50%;background-repeat: no-repeat;background-size: 7em;position: absolute;width: 100%;height: 100%;"> Goethe-Institut Returning media isn't necessary - at the end of the loan period, media automatically becomes unavailable. With our eLibrary, borrowing media is at your fingertips 24/7. Visit our new website and have a look our digital media selection!

How do I register to use the eLibrary?

Logging in to use our eLibrary is simple: Log in to your Mein Goethe.de account. If you don't yet have a Mein Goethe.de account please register for one (registration and use of Mein Goethe.de and the eLibrary are free of charge). Our eLibrary is for customers based outside the German-speaking area. To use the eLibrary within Germany please contact your local library. After logging in to Mein Goethe.de, go to the menu option "My eLibrary" and click on the "Log in" option. You can now use the digital media available in our eLibrary!

eLibrary
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Foto: Goethe-Institut/Loredana La Rocca

Digital library

The eLibrary allows you to borrow digital documents, such as eBooks, audio files and electronic newspapers, for a predetermined period of time.

The eLibrary is the virtual library of the Goethe-Institut. This service allows you to borrow digital media, such as ebooks, audio and video files, and electronic newspapers and magazines, for a predetermined period of time, by downloading them from our eLibrary.

Goethe-Institut

Returning media isn't necessary - at the end of the loan period, media automatically becomes unavailable.

With our eLibrary, borrowing media is at your fingertips 24/7.

Visit our new website and have a look our digital media selection!

Please complete and submit the library application form to register as a user of the Goethe-Institut and gain access to our eLibrary.

Logging in to use our eLibrary is simple:

Log in to your Mein Goethe.de account. If you don't yet have a Mein Goethe.de account please register for one (registration and use of Mein Goethe.de and the eLibrary are free of charge).

Our eLibrary is for customers based outside the German-speaking area. To use the eLibrary within Germany please contact your local library.
After logging in to Mein Goethe.de, go to the menu option "My eLibrary" and click on the "Log in" option. You can now use the digital media available in our eLibrary!

Prior to registering for the eLibrary, please check that your PC or Mac meets the minimum technical requirements for use. We highly recommend a broadband Internet connection (DSL, cable) for media downloads.

The following formats are currently used in the eLibrary:for eBooks: PDF-format and/or ePub-format

for eAudio: WMA-format
for eVideo: WMV-format
for ePaper: PDF-format

The minimal requirements for Windows systems are:

Operating system: Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7
Windows Media Player 11 or higher
Adobe Reader X or higher
Adobe Digital Editions 1.7.2 (free Adobe ID required for authentification)
Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher
Firefox 3.6.0 or higher

The minimal requirements for Mac systems (for eBook use only) are:

Mac OS 10.2.8 - 10.4.2 + Adobe Reader 7.1.0
Mac OS 10.4.3 - 10.5.3 + Adobe Reader 8.x (9)

Please note that only eBooks in the ePub format are currently available on Apple products. In order to open ePubs on an iPad or iPhone you can download the free Overdrive Media Console or Bluefire apps and sign in with your free Adobe ID. ePapers are currently not available for download onto Apple products. eAudio, eMusic and eVideo also not available, even if Windows Mediaplayer for Mac has been installed.

The minimal requirements for Linux systems for eBook use are:

SuSe Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 + Adobe Reader 7.0.9 - 8.x
Slackware Linux 10 + Adobe Reader 7.0.9 - 8.x
Debian 4.0 Etch + Adobe Reader 7.0.9 - 8.x
Ubuntu (ab Version 8.10)

The Adobe PDF Reader is required in all cases. Other PDF readers, such as kpdf, unfortunately do not work. Adobe Reader 8.1.1 is recommended for Linux.

We appreciate your understanding that while we currently are able to make our new range of titles available to many customers, for technical reasons, we are as yet unable to do so for all of them.

Please make sure that your eBook reader is compatible.