How to use the Ebiblio online library to have free books and movies in Spain

With a totally free Ebiblio account we will be able to access a series of book, press and movie epubs for free as if it were an online library. All this with minimal procedures and accessible to all, especially if you already have a municipal library nearby.

If you live in Spain, you probably know that there is a network of municipal public libraries that allow us to access a very wide catalog of books, DVDs of series and films, and press of all kinds. The catalog has always been limited, but it is undeniable that for many people it is the best way they have to access culture, information and training. What many do not know is its online portal Ebiblio with a free book, film and digital press loan system that is integrated into the library network.

This allows everyone to have access to all kinds of content that is already offered in libraries, but without any need to leave home beyond the initial registration to ensure that it is an identified and legal person residing in Spain. We warn you that Ebiblio does not have the most current literary content or the latest great films, but it does allow us to have access to a series of totally free content, saving some limitations.

How to create a user in Ebiblio

If in other services it would be as easy as putting a username and password, with some personal data, in this case it is somewhat complicated in comparison. This free online service is integrated with municipal public libraries, so we will have to be registered with a library and create a user of the public library network to access Ebiblio.

As they are powers assigned to city councils and autonomous communities, the process may vary, but it should not be too different between them. To access Ebiblio in this case of example, we will use a library card from the Autonomous Community of Madrid, for which we will need to fill out a form with more data than a regular video-on-demand website. Additionally, we will have to select a public library to which we will have to go in person to formalize the registration, and in our case we only had to sign the form that we already sent. Once done, we will be given a user number for the public library network, which will be the same that we will use for Ebiblio. We complete the registration by simply confirming the user with the password that they will give us, although it would be advisable to change it to one that only we know for security reasons.

It is true that the process can be unclear and requires a trip to a library, which can be difficult in the case of cities in Spain that do not have one nearby. But it is understandable that this method is used, since Ebiblio does not work by itself, but depends on licenses given to public libraries. Accepting anyone without a registration or identity guarantee would be a problem. But once it is done, there is not much more to do, and if we are already users of public libraries, it will be enough to ask the library officials so that they create us a user compatible with Ebiblio and thus be able to get books, series, movies and free press from home and legally.

How to use Ebiblio to borrow books for free and legal

Once inside, the free online library service Ebiblio is not particularly complicated to use, at least if we have a little experience in using on-demand service catalogs. The most immediate thing that occurs to us is the digital book rental, with which we will have access to a limited, but generous amount of loans and reserves. As we said, they are licenses for libraries, so they must control access, and they cannot loan infinite amounts of a book without getting into complicated negotiations.

That is why each rental of a book will have a limited time of availability, although it can be extended if necessary. However, each book you ask for is one that another person cannot enjoy, so if you finish one, you should return it as soon as possible so that someone else can enjoy it. If a book we are looking for is not available, we can request the reservation of it so that an email can be sent to us as soon as possible. They will tell us the number of the waiting list we are on, as well as an approximate date and time of when it will be available, so we insist that if you have finished a book, it is best to return it as soon as possible.

As long as we have the book on loan, we can read it both through the web reader, our computer or an electronic book reader as long as it is compatible with the Adobe DRM system, or through the apps for iOS and Android. The use and interface of these is extremely functional, but it becomes outdated and little cared for.

How to use Ebiblio to watch free movies

Books are not the only thing that we can borrow online for free as a user of the municipal library, as we have magazines, presses and even movies and audiobooks. For the latter, we will be connected to the platform efilm, which for practical purposes does not go beyond a particular design for the section of films and series of Ebiblio. The use of these is very archaic, because in movies we have barely managed to overcome versions defined as SD, in addition to being impossible to send directly to Google Cast from the computer.

The movie catalog is more concise than the book catalog and of a quality and interest that will depend on the user. But with a little interest, curiosity and effort we can find something that may interest us. There is an acceptable amount of national production, taking into account that access is free. As a great point in its favor, for normal playback we have not had any interruption with the server in the movies and series that we have been watching, so do not expect disconnection problems.

In the case of Efilm content, the loans are more limited in the number of movies and series that we can order both at the same time and month by month. With these we will have 48 hours of unlimited access to the movies to see them as many times as we need and there is no need to wait for them to be released by other users nor do we have to think about returning them ahead of time, since I would not change anything.