Digital Collections

The digital collections of the Library Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network are available online to every member from the day their membership number is issued. They comprise e-books and audiobooks, newspapers and periodicals, licensed reference databases, language courses, maps and plans, music and film, and the Official Publications of the Network. The official publications are available to anyone; the other collections require membership.

41,800

E-book and audiobook titles at launch

140

Newspaper and periodical titles

1,260

Official publications deposited at establishment

12,470

Digital loans during the transition period

The collections. Each collection is described below, with the conditions under which it may be used.

E-books and e-audiobooks

41,800 titles of fiction and non-fiction for adults, young people and children, including large-print editions. Titles are borrowed for three weeks and return automatically; a member may hold six at a time and may renew once if no other member is waiting. Titles on loan may be reserved and are issued in turn.

Newspapers and periodicals

Current and past issues of 140 newspapers, magazines and journals published in the Network and elsewhere, readable online without loan limits. Back files extend to the earliest issue licensed to the Service.

Official Publications of the Network

Every document published by a department or office of the Network and deposited with the Service, from 1,260 documents at establishment. Reports, statistical releases, guidance, consultation papers and notices are added within five working days of deposit and are available to anyone without membership.

Reference databases

Licensed encyclopaedias, dictionaries, biographical and geographical reference works, and technical standards. Databases are consulted online and are not borrowed; some are limited to a number of simultaneous readers, in which case a waiting list operates.

Language learning

Structured courses in the working languages of the Network and in twenty other languages, with graded readers and audio. Progress is saved against the member's account.

Maps and plans

Digitised maps, site plans and charts of the Network, including the plans of the principal sites and the transport network, at a resolution suitable for study and printing.

Music and film

A licensed collection of recorded music, documentary and feature film for streaming by members, with subtitles and audio description where the publisher provides them. Each member may stream up to ten titles a month.

Using the collections. The steps below apply to every collection.

1. 1

   Step 1: Obtain a membership number

   The digital collections are available from the day your membership number is issued, before your card is collected. Readers transferred from member organisations should use the number on their existing card.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose a PIN

   On first use, enter your membership number and the email address held by the Service, and choose a PIN of at least six digits. A confirmation is sent to that address.

3. 3

   Step 3: Sign in on any device

   The collections may be read in a web browser or in the reading application of each licensed publisher. Sign in with your membership number and PIN on up to five devices.

4. 4

   Step 4: Borrow, read and return

   E-book loans return automatically at the end of the loan period and may be returned early to free a loan. Streaming and reference databases need no return. Reservations of digital titles are notified by email and held for three days.

Accessibility. E-books may be read with adjustable type size, spacing and contrast and with the screen reader of the member's device. Audiobook and audio description versions are shown alongside the print edition in the catalogue. Members who need a title in a format the Service does not hold may write to the Service, which will seek an accessible copy from the publisher.

Suggesting a title. Members may suggest titles for the digital collections by writing to the Service. Suggestions are considered monthly and the member is told the outcome. Titles requested by three or more members are given priority.

Enquiries may be sent to contact@libraries.gov.vin. For the conditions of membership, see Membership; for loans of physical items, see Borrowing; for the number of digital loans made to date, see Statistics.