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Electronic Library
From anywhere, at any time, on any device: the Instituto Cervantes' e-library is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—all you need is an Internet connection.
The Instituto Cervantes’ digital library is a collection of online resources and services where you can borrow and read e-books, listen to music and audiobooks, access electronic resources (databases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories…), participate in virtual book and film clubs, and more.
To use the e-library’s resources and services, you must become a member through the Instituto Cervantes’ e-commerce platform. The annual fee is €14.
Check out the additional information about our digital library, and if you have any questions, please leave us a message at our user support service.
The Leemos a virtual book club connects readers from around the world to share and discuss online notable works of Spanish and Latin American literature, all of which are available in our e-book collection.
In addition, we also offer the virtual book club E-LEemos: Graded Readings, where participants read and discuss Spanish-language texts adapted to different proficiency levels. The goal is to help all Spanish learners advance their communicative and intercultural competence and refine their language skills.
Furthermore, we dedicate our Mosaico virtual book club to reading works in Catalan, Galician, and Basque, with the goal of creating a space for cultural exchange and dialogue to enjoy and delve deeper into literature in these three co-official Spanish languages, to raise awareness of their authors, and to expand the literary and cultural offerings we provide through our online services.
These virtual clubs always feature professional facilitators and moderators who guide the conversation and supplement the selected readings with materials and information about the context of the work and its authors, who often participate in the online discussion as well.
There are only two requirements to participate in these literary clubs: an adequate level of Spanish and a valid membership card from our digital library or any of the libraries that make up the Instituto Cervantes library network.
We encourage you to participate in the Instituto Cervantes virtual clubs, as described in this brief guide, and to contact us if you have any questions.
The Instituto Cervantes library network’s virtual film club, Cita con el cine, is a service offered by the digital library that allows you to watch the scheduled films or documentaries and discuss them with people from around the world who are interested in cinema.
Its purpose is to foster the public’s appreciation for Spanish and Latin American cinema, promote the work of our filmmakers, and—thanks to the participation and moderation of directors, screenwriters, actors, critics, librarians, cultural managers, teachers, and others—bring the filmmaking process closer to the general public.
There are only two requirements to participate in this space for cinematic discussion and learning: a good level of Spanish (at least B1) and a valid library membership card from one of our libraries.
E-library Resources
Borrow thousands of digital books on linguistics, Spanish as a foreign language (ELE), classic and contemporary literary works by Spanish and Latin American authors, history, art, science, and more, as well as publications and materials for children and young adults, and access the digital lending platform.
With this new way of reading—and new titles added every day—you can discover works from more than 200 publishers around the world, publications from the Instituto Cervantes, and titles from partners such as the Union of Spanish University Presses (UNE), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the publishing units of the General State Administration, as well as magazines and audiovisual materials.
Through our digital library, you can also download audiobooks in Spanish by classic and contemporary authors in their original versions, narrated by professional voice actors.
Audiobooks, an alternative to conventional reading, are recordings of a book’s content, read aloud by a narrator. The recordings feature a single narrator and are complete versions of the original works, distributed in digital format.
They are extremely useful for learning and teaching languages, for practicing listening skills, for making the most of free time or commutes, or for listening to while playing certain sports... They are also especially helpful in enabling people with visual impairments to access the best literature and in allowing children to listen to stories that interest them.
Our audiobook catalog includes classics, contemporary fiction, children's literature, and works on philosophy. You can also access our audiobooks through the lending platform.
You can also access the numerous electronic journals to which the Instituto Cervantes library network subscribes through our online library.
In addition to these cultural and applied linguistics journals, a considerable number of multidisciplinary journal titles can also be found by searching multiple databases—such as Digitalia, Hapi Online, or Dialnet Plus.
Among the services that the library network offers its members is free access to a wide variety of databases and other high-quality, specialized information resources. We provide a complete list of these resources in alphabetical order and by subject.
Terms of Use
The Instituto Cervantes' digital library aims to make the digital content and services available through its extensive network of libraries accessible to people around the world.
The cost of the e-library membership card—which is available only to individuals, not organizations—is €14, and it is valid for one year from the date of purchase or renewal.
The digital platforms that make up our e-library provide links to external websites over which the Instituto Cervantes has no control and for which it accepts no responsibility.
The Instituto Cervantes’ digital library is available exclusively for reading, study, and research purposes and is subject to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, of April 12). For any other use, written authorization from the author(s) of the work and from the Cervantes Institute’s Department of Libraries and Documentation is required to use this electronic version.
The reproduction, distribution, transmission, adaptation, or modification—by any means and in any form—of the content and resources (texts, designs, graphics, information, databases, sound or image files, logos, etc.) of the digital spaces that make up our electronic library is therefore prohibited, unless prior and express authorization is obtained from their legitimate owners or when permitted by law. Any commercial or advertising use of the aforementioned content, other than that strictly permitted where applicable, is also prohibited, as is, in general, any infringement of any rights derived therefrom.
Mobile Apps
IC Virtual Clubs (Official)
Through the IC Virtual Clubs (Official) app, the Instituto Cervantes also offers the opportunity to participate in both its virtual book clubs and its virtual film club.
The IC Virtual Clubs (Official) app is also available on both the App Store and Google Play.
Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes
The Instituto Cervantes offers all members of its libraries the opportunity to access books and documents from the digital library through a dedicated mobile app: Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes.
Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes allows you to borrow any title available in the digital library catalog and download it to your mobile device with a single click—it’s simple and easy.
From the app, you can browse the catalog, borrow or reserve documents, download books to your mobile device, and read them even without an Internet connection. In addition, Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes allows you to sync your reading across different devices and pause and resume reading exactly where you left off.
Install the Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes app from Google Play if you have an Android device (version 5.0 or higher), or from the App Store if you have an Apple device (iOS version 13 or higher), and read whenever and wherever you want.