Featured
New! LingQ and ParentTV
RAILS public library members can now access discounts on the LingQ language learning and ParentTV parenting and child development platforms. Both offer valuable resources at an affordable price point. Visit the Deals LingQ page or Deals ParentTV page for more information including trial access and pricing.
Biblioboard Creator
Digital publishing tools to create, manage, and showcase local content including local history collections, music, art, photos, cookbooks, and more. Subscribe by 9/1 for free early access ahead of the 10/1 group purchase.
Vendor Demos on RAILS Academy
Find recordings of Vendor Demo webinars from RAILS partners on RAILS Academy under RAILS Webinars - Vendor Demos. Recent demos include WhoFi, EBSCOAdmin, Novelist, Midwest Tape, and Penworthy, with more to come!
Storykin: Creative Writing for Public Libraries
Storykin guides aspiring writers through fun lessons with gamified elements, for use as an online or programming resource. Learn about Storykin and the RAILS discount.
Discounts on Library Materials and Collection Services
The RAILS team partners with print material vendors to bring discounts to RAILS members. View the print materials vendor chart for a comparison of vendors and discounts available.
Barnes & Noble &Classwork | Bound to Stay Bound Books | Brodart | Center Point Large Print | Ingram Content Group | Libraria | Mackin | MicroMarketing | Midwest Tape | The Penworthy Company
Digital Accessibility Resources
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires public entities, including local libraries and library districts, to ensure that their web content and mobile applications are accessible to individuals with disabilities. The accessibility standards in Title II of the ADA extend to web content and mobile apps that a public entity provides or makes available through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with a third party through which the public entity uses the web content or mobile app to provide a service, program, or activity, such as e-resources.
RAILS advocates for accessibility compliance with our partners and collects documentation such as VPATs, but it is the responsibility of participating libraries to ensure their applicable vendors comply with the ADA accessibility standards.
Visit the RAILS Digital Accessibility Pulse Page and RAILS Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) Repository for resources to assist with evaluating products and vendor communication.
Statewide E-Resource Package
View the list of the EBSCO databases provided by the Illinois State Library (PDF) through the statewide database package. For questions about the new statewide e-resource program, contact Suzanna Jones, ISL Library Program Specialist at sjones@ilsos.gov, 217-785-7334. For a background on this project, please visit the RAILS E-Resource Program Pulse page.
Online High School Diploma Programs
Career Online High School and Gale: Excel Adult High School are online high school diploma programs that enable libraries to offer adult learners accredited high school diplomas. Participating libraries only pay for student scholarships, and RAILS/IHLS libraries qualify for a volume discount.
Career Online High School information and pricing (login required)
Gale: Excel Adult High School information and pricing (login required)
Group Purchases
Group Purchases are negotiated, managed, or otherwise mediated by us, and participation is available for RAILS members.
BiblioBoard Creator | Digital Tools for Creating and Publishing Multimedia Content
Resource Description
Support your local creative community with BiblioBoard Creator. Creator provides libraries with a powerful suite of digital publishing tools to create, manage, and showcase unique local content. Preserve your community's history by building digital archives or invite local creators to contribute their work through community submission projects.
With Creator, libraries can publish and share a wide variety of multimedia content, including local history collections, music, artwork, photography, oral histories, cookbooks, literary magazines, digital exhibits, and much more. It's an easy way to celebrate local voices, preserve community stories, and make them accessible to everyone.
Features
Empower your community organizations by making Creator available to local and regional cultural, historical, and nonprofit organizations, giving them a platform to preserve and share their stories through digital archives of photographs, videos, documents, and other multimedia content.
Creator also supports education by making local archives and digital resources accessible for classroom projects and student research. Library staff can partner with local historians, genealogists, museums, and community storytellers to curate collections, enrich metadata, and preserve the unique history and culture of their communities for future generations.
Pricing
Pricing is confidential to RAILS members and Biblioboard only. Please do not share outside of these organizations.
Ordering
For more information or to subscribe, please contact Roy Serrao, Senior Library Consultant, roy.serrao@lyrasis.org or 336.251.2828
Updates
New File Size Upload Limits
Creator has recently established file size limits for PDF and EPUB files to prevent ingestion errors. The limits are intentionally generous and should be more than sufficient for the vast majority of files uploaded based on typical file sizes. These limits apply to files uploaded directly through Creator.
If a file exceeds the applicable limit, users will see an error message during the upload process. If you encounter an error when uploading because of file size, files can often be compressed using compression tools before uploading again.
GIF–50 MB, JPG/JPEG–100 MB, PNG–150 MB, PDF–200 MB, EPUB–500 MB, MP3/M4A–300 MB
ZIP, TIF/TIFF, WAV, MP4, AVI, FLV, DIVX, WEBM, OGG–2 GB
Chicago Tribune | Digital Access & E-Edition
Resource Description
Chicago Tribune digital access provides library patrons with unlimited access to online content at chicagotribune.com, access to an E-Edition copy of the current newspaper, and web articles dating back to the 2000s. Patrons access the content by authenticating using their library card and selecting 72-hour access using their Chicago Tribune login or 24-hour anonymous access with no login required. Access is available both onsite and remotely and includes the content available to individual subscribers on chicagotribune.com.
Ordering
Sign up now for an October 1 start date. The prorated cost is $405 for a nine-month subscription from 10/1/26 – 6/30/27, and order form must be completed by September 18 to join for October 1. Contact deals@railslibraries.org for more information.
Group Purchase
- The RAILS group purchase runs July 1 - June 30. Onboarding after July 1 is available quarterly on 10/1, 1/1, and 4/1. Libraries who sign up after July 1 will be given a prorated price to align with the next year's group purchase dates.
- Libraries will be billed by RAILS after their start date.
Pricing
Annual subscription cost is $540 per library, a 25% discount on the standard $720 consortia rate.
Pricing is confidential to RAILS members and Chicago Tribune/MediaNews Group only. Please do not share outside of these organizations.
The RAILS Deals & Discount team is excited to be able to offer this opportunity for discounted Chicago Tribune digital access to your libraries and communities! Contact deals@railslibraries.org if you have any questions.
Comics Plus | Joyful Reading Company
Update from Comics Plus:
We’re excited to share the next chapter in our story. We are now a part of The Joyful Reading Company, along with Beanstack, a platform built to spark curiosity, celebrate progress, and turn everyday reading into moments of pride and possibility. Together, our mission is simple: to nurture joyful, lifelong readers.
We will continue doing what we do best: providing schools and libraries with unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books—delivered with the same care, integrity, and focus on access that have always defined LibraryPass and Comics Plus.
By aligning with Beanstack’s reading engagement platform, we’re creating a connected ecosystem that inspires reading, expands access, and demonstrates impact—all in one place.
Library Pass official announcement and more information.
Resource Description
With Comics Plus, your readers can have unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from a variety of library-friendly publishers. Explore a diverse selection containing thousands of new and backlist titles from ABDO, Andrews McMeel, BOOM! Studios, Capstone, Cherry Lake, Dark Horse, Europe Comics, Fantagraphics, Humanoids, Image Comics, Kodansha, Lerner, Manga Classics, Oni Press, Papercutz, Tokyopop, TOON Books, UDON Entertainment, Yen Press, and dozens more. No holds, wait lists, or monthly borrowing limits—all at a price that won’t break your materials budget.
Group Purchase
RAILS libraries will receive a 25% discount who sign up directly with Comics Plus. Also available to Mackin customers who are newly signing up for Comics Plus. The discount applies to all public libraries, based on pop served and all K-12 members, based on a per building price (Elementary/Middle/High School).
Contact deals@railslibraries.org to order.
Pricing is confidential to RAILS members and The Joyful Reading Company only. Please do not share outside of these organizations.
Vendor Contact
For more information contact Jillian Tweet, jillian.tweet@librarypass.com.
eRead Illinois | Statewide Shared Collection of E-Books and E-Audiobooks
Pricing
For information about the transition to Palace Project, visit: https://ereadillinois.com/transition
For pricing and other information, visit the eRead Illinois website: https://ereadillinois.com
Gale Presents: Udemy | Online Learning
Resource Description
Gale has partnered with Udemy, the leading marketplace for online learning, to offer public libraries Gale Presents: Udemy. This online learning platform provides instruction for adults who want to upskill for a new job, advance in their current profession, or deepen a personal interest.
Ordering
Price listed on order form is an annual price. If you are signing up outside of the 1/1-12/31 subscription period, RAILS staff will contact you with a prorated price to align you with the RAILS renewal date.
Please log in for access to your Gale Presents: Udemy join/renew form.
Features
Discover 10 reasons why Gale Presents: Udemy surpasses the competition.
- Extensive Course Selection: Access 30K+ top-tier courses on Gale’s Udemy platform, carefully curated from Udemy’s vast library of 250K+ courses.
- Rigorous Vetting: Courses and instructors are handpicked based on feedback from Udemy’s 81M paid users and the platform itself, ensuring only the best content makes it to Gale.
- Diverse Learning Opportunities: Patrons can explore a wide range of online courses in business, technology, personal development, and more.
- Expert-Led Instruction: Learn from industry leaders—world-class experts, bestselling authors, and award-winning professors. The variety of instructors ensures patrons can find educators whose expertise, identities, and styles fit their learning preferences.
- NEW AI Role-Playing Feature: Hundreds of courses allow the learner to participate in, or observe, scenario-based situations that mimic real-world workplace challenges. These include Conflict Resolution, Public Speaking, Customer Service, Interviewing, and more.
- NEW AI Assistant: Learners can ask questions, get summaries, and receive personalized course recommendations, all in a natural conversation.
- Real-Time Content Updates: Benefit from the latest, in-demand skills with courses updated at market speed—often within days.
- Native-Language Learning: Enjoy 17K+ on-demand video courses in 15 languages, taught by native speakers, offering a unique and immersive learning experience.
- Learn Anytime, Anywhere: Use the mobile app to download courses for offline viewing, listen in audio format, or stream via Chromecast or Apple TV.
- Comprehensive Support: Take advantage of Gale’s extensive Staff Training and Marketing Support.
Group Purchase
- RAILS public libraries are eligible to join the RAILS group purchase for a 50% discount. Complete the online order form to opt into the RAILS Gale Presents: Udemy Group Purchase.
- Pricing is based on population served.
- The group purchase annual subscription runs 1/1-12/31. Libraries signing up or renewing prior to or after 1/1 will be prorated to align with the group purchase dates.
- Credits will not be offered for existing Gale Presents: Udemy subscriptions joining the RAILS group purchase.
- Libraries will sign-up/renew through RAILS and RAILS will invoice the libraries.
- Email deals@railslibraries.org for questions about ordering.
Pricing
See attached price list below. Pricing did not increase for 2026.
Pricing is confidential to RAILS members and Gale only. Please do not share outside of these organizations.
Trial
Gale Presents: Udemy Trial Site
Webinars
30 Minute Gale: Udemy 101 Informational Webinar Recording
Vendor Contact
For further information about Gale Presents: Udemy, contact Stephanie Legro, Sr. Educational Consultant – Public Libraries, stephanie.legro@cengage.com, 715.218.3926.