E-Books & Audiobooks
Ready to Start?
Click the Sora icon and sign in with your school email account! Then read on to make sure you are accessing ALL the great content we have available through the public library systems too.
Sora is Your Source for E-Books
What is Sora?
The AHS Library is a member of the MLS Commonwealth eBook Collection on Sora, a shared digital library of over 17,000 e-books and audiobooks across all grade levels and interest areas with new titles added each month. We can also add our own titles just for AHS so feel free to share your requests and recommendations!
If you already use Libby through the public library, Sora will look familiar, as both are from OverDrive.
Ready to start? Go straight to Sora now!
How do I use Sora?
Watch this two minute video for a quick introduction. Then read our Getting Started with Sora slides or follow these simple steps:
On your mobile device, install the Sora app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Enter setup code masslibma or choose MLS Commonwealth eBook Collection
On your computer, go to https://soraapp.com/library/masslibma
Choose Arlington High Staff or Student and sign in with your Google account
Browse the Explore tab and borrow a book. Your book will open so you can start reading right away
Close the book and go to your Shelf to see all your books. From there you can tap Open Book or Open Audiobook to read or listen to the book. Tap Options to renew or return the book, get to your notes and highlights, add libraries, and more
Happy reading! If you get stuck, let us know, we're happy to help!
How many books can I have? How long can I keep them?
You can have up to 5 books checked out at a time (more if you add public library networks, see below). The default checkout period is 21 days and books can be renewed as long as nobody else is waiting for them. You can also change your personal checkout period to 28 days for eligible titles by going into your settings!
Don't see what you want?
You can make a suggestion to the AHS Library or even directly to the MLS Commonwealth eBook Collection, which curates our Sora collection.
How can I get public library books through Sora?
Public Library CONNECT is a new feature that allows us to borrow books from the Minuteman Library Network and Robbins Library directly through Sora!
Follow the steps above to get started with Sora
Under your Profile, select Add a public library and enter Minuteman Library Network (MLN)
Find a book you want to borrow or request and sign in with your school Google account (you will need to sign in and then click borrow again)
After you add MLN and log in again, you may receive a notification that you can use your MLN account to get books from several other Massachusetts library networks: Boston, CLAMS, CW MARS, Merrimack Valley, NOBLE, Old Colony, and SAILS. Click Add new libraries to take advantage! If you don't see that notice, you can still add them individually.
When you search for a book make sure the box Search all of my libraries is selected and you can look for one book across practically all of Massachusetts with just a few clicks!
Need more help?
See these online tutorials from Sora.
Other Sources for Books Online
If you are looking for older books, they may be in the public domain, and available to you for free online. Works that are not available in the public domain may still be available online through Robbins Library or Boston Public Library e-resources.
eBook High School Collection (EBSCO)
More than 11,000 e-books across all academic subject areas, including history, language and literature, science and technology, math, performing arts, business and economics, foreign language study, political science, and more. Best for research but there are some awesome leisure reading titles and graphic novels here too.
Project Gutenberg (for public domain works)
The first and largest online library of free e-books. These books are free because their copyright has expired. Download to your computer, e-reader, or mobile device.
Internet Archive (for public domain works)
The Internet Archive was founded to provide "permanent access ... to historical collections that exist in digital format." In addition to public domain e-books and archived websites, the Internet Archive has expanded to include audio, video, and software.
Hoopla (from Robbins Library or BPL*)
Another great resource for books online is Hoopla, which is available through the public libraries. You will need an e-card for the library and then you create a Hoopla account. The great thing about Hoopla is that its books never have a waiting list. However, the number of loans you have per month is limited.