-
Learning Spanish in Chicago
-
-
Certification Exams at Instituto Cervantes Chicago
-
Cultural Activities in Chicago
-
José Emilio Pacheco Library
-
Instituto Cervantes of Chicago
- Instituto Cervantes
- E-stados Unidos
- Chicago
- José Emilio Pacheco Library
- Biblioteca electrónica
Electronic Library
Access it from anywhere, at any time, on any device: the Instituto Cervantes Electronic Library is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a yea, all you need is an internet connection.
The Instituto Cervantes Electronic Library provides access to a wide range of online resources and services. Members can borrow and read e-books, listen to music and audiobooks, access electronic resources such as databases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and directories, and participate in virtual book and film clubs, among many other offerings.
To access the Electronic Library's resources and services, simply join through the Instituto Cervantes online registration platform. Annual membership is €14.
Leemos A Virtual Book Club connects readers from around the world to share and discuss outstanding works of Spanish and Latin American literature online. All selected works are always available through our e-book collection.
We also offer the E-LEemos Virtual Book Club: Graded Readings, which allows participants to read and discuss Spanish texts adapted to different proficiency levels. Its goal is to help Spanish learners develop their communicative and intercultural competence while improving their language skills.
In addition, our Mosaico Virtual Book Club is dedicated to reading works in Catalan, Galician, and Basque. It provides a space for cultural exchange and dialogue, allowing participants to enjoy and explore literature written in Spain’s three co-official languages, discover their authors, and expand the literary and cultural offerings available through our online services.
These virtual book clubs are always guided by professional moderators and facilitators who encourage discussion and enrich the selected readings with materials and background information about the works and their authors. Authors themselves also frequently participate in the online discussions.
There are only two requirements to join these literary clubs: having an appropriate level of Spanish proficiency and holding a valid membership card for our Electronic Library or for any of the libraries that are part of the Instituto Cervantes Library Network.
We invite you to take part in the Instituto Cervantes Virtual Book Clubs. As you will see in this brief guide, and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
The Instituto Cervantes Library Network’s Cita con el cine Virtual Film Club is an Electronic Library service that allows you to watch selected films and documentaries and discuss them with people from around the world who share an interest in cinema.
Its goal is to encourage appreciation for Spanish and Latin American cinema, promote the work of our filmmakers, and, through the participation and moderation of directors, screenwriters, actors, critics, librarians, cultural managers, teachers, and other professionals, bring the filmmaking process closer to the public.
There are only two requirements to participate in this space for cinematic discussion and learning: a good level of Spanish proficiency (at least B1) and a valid membership card from one of our libraries.
Electronic 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. You will also find publications and materials for children and young adults. Access our digital lending platform to explore and borrow these resources.
With this new way of reading, and with new titles added every day, you can discover works from more than 200 publishers around the world, publications from the Instituto Cervantes, and editions from partner institutions such as the Spanish Association of University Presses (UNE), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the publishing units of Spain’s General State Administration. You will also have access to magazines and audiovisual materials.
Through our digital library, you can also download Spanish-language audiobooks by classic and contemporary authors in their original versions, narrated by professional voice actors.
Audiobooks are an alternative to traditional reading. They are recordings of a book’s content read aloud by a narrator. These recordings feature a single professional voice and present the complete, unabridged original works in digital format.
Audiobooks are an excellent resource for learning and teaching languages, developing listening comprehension skills, making productive use of leisure time or commuting, and even accompanying activities such as exercise. They are also especially valuable for people with visual impairments, providing access to outstanding literature, and for children, who can enjoy stories and narrations tailored to their interests.
Our audiobook catalog includes classic works, contemporary fiction, children’s literature, and works on philosophy and thought. Our audiobooks can also be accessed through the digital lending platform.
Through our digital library, you can also access the numerous electronic journals to which the Instituto Cervantes Library Network subscribes.
In addition to these cultural and applied linguistics journals, you can also find a considerable number of multidisciplinary journal titles through searches in multiple databases, such as Digitalia, HAPI Online, and Dialnet Plus.
Among the services that the library network offers to its members is free and unrestricted access to a wide range of databases and other specialized, high-quality information resources. A complete list of these resources is available, organized alphabetically and by subject area.
Terms of Use
The Instituto Cervantes digital library aims to make available to people around the world the digital content and services provided by its extensive network of libraries.
The fee for the digital library membership card, which is available only to individuals, not to organizations, is €14, and its validity period is one year from the date of purchase or renewal.
The digital spaces that make up our digital library provide links to external websites over which the Instituto Cervantes has no control and for which it assumes no responsibility.
The Instituto Cervantes digital library is available exclusively for reading, study, and research purposes and is subject to the provisions of the Spanish Intellectual Property Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, of April 12). Any other use requires written authorization from the author(s) of the work and from the Library and Documentation Department of the Instituto Cervantes for the use of this electronic version.
Therefore, the reproduction, distribution, transmission, adaptation, or modification, by any means or in any form, of the contents and resources (texts, designs, graphics, information, databases, audio or image files, logos, etc.) of the digital spaces that make up our digital library is prohibited, except with prior and express authorization from the legitimate rights holders or when permitted by law. Any commercial or advertising use of the aforementioned content, beyond what may be strictly permitted, is also prohibited, as is any infringement of rights derived from such content.
Mobile Applications
IC Virtual Clubs (Official)
Through the IC Virtual Clubs (Official) app, the Instituto Cervantes also offers the opportunity to participate in its virtual reading clubs as well as its virtual film club.
The IC Virtual Clubs (Official) app is also available on both the App Store and Google Play.
Instituto Cervantes e-Library
The Instituto Cervantes offers all library members the possibility of accessing the books and documents in the digital library through a dedicated mobile application: Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes.
Biblio-e Instituto Cervantes allows users to electronically borrow any title available in the digital library catalog and download it to their mobile device with a single click, in a simple and convenient way.
Through 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 synchronization across different devices, enabling you to start reading on one device and stop and resume at the exact point 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.