Biblio Digital
A library without walls, bringing Catalan reading and culture into every home
Organization
Culture | Public Libraries
+118K
Active users
A library card shouldn't stop working at the front door
Catalonia’s Department of Culture, together with the Barcelona Provincial Council, runs Biblio Digital, the platform that gives libraries in Catalonia’s Public Reading System a single space to legally download ebooks and audiobooks, as well as access movies, music, news media, magazines, and other digital content.
Catalonia’s libraries needed to go beyond their walls: offering universal, free, high-quality access to culture, with no limits set by location or opening hours on what citizens could access.
The goal wasn’t to replace the physical library, but to evolve toward a digital model capable of breaking down geographic and time barriers, without giving up what makes a public library unique, being a space for inclusion and cultural participation.
A library that fits in your pocket and reaches all of Catalonia
Biblio Digital was born as the solution that extends the reach of Catalonia's public library system
far beyond its physical spaces, with simple, intuitive digital access available 24 hours a day.
Its catalog brings together novels, essays, poetry, news media, magazines, music, and sheet music, among other current content, all in a single environment, offering an experience as broad and diverse as Catalonia’s own cultural landscape.
The platform works just as well on the web as on its own iOS and Android app, letting users browse the catalog, take out digital loans, and access content from anywhere. Features like reading clubs, personalized recommendations, and the ability for each person to set their own reading challenges bring the library into a closer relationship with every user.
Behind the platform, usage analytics help make sense of citizens’ reading habits, spot emerging needs, and continuously refine the digital experience, information that helps the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona Provincial Council decide how to keep expanding the service.
The impact of opening Catalonia's public library at any hour, from anywhere
Biblio Digital has become a benchmark among Spain’s public digital libraries, showing that expanding access to culture and continuously evolving the digital experience don’t have to come at the expense of keeping the library service public, free, and close to the community.
New uses
+50K
+118K
Active users
+49K
Multi-format resources
+227K
App downloads
Digital loans
+1.7M
Biblio Digital
“The real success of Biblio Digital has been turning the library card into a gateway to a universe of digital content, bringing culture and knowledge closer to every citizen, no matter where they are.”
“With Biblio Digital, we want to remove barriers so anyone can access culture and knowledge for free, from anywhere, at any time.”
Josep Vives i Gràcia, Head of Library Services, Department of Culture · Government of Catalonia