The Palace Project

The Palace Project

by The Palace Project

4.8K ratings
263 reviews
#78 in free Book
🔍 Reference
📚 Books
Free

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • August 7, 2021
  • August 5, 2026

Features

The Palace Project screenshot #1 for iPhone
The Palace Project screenshot #2 for iPhone
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The Palace Project screenshot #5 for iPhone
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About

Access and enjoy e-books and audiobooks from your local library for free. Discover new titles, borrow them instantly with your library card, and read or listen anywhere. Even without a participating library, enjoy a collection of free books.

Borrow e-books and audiobooks
Access local library collections
Read or listen to books
Free Palace Bookshelf collection
Requires library card for full access
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What users say

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+1

What's New in The Palace Project

3.2.3

August 5, 2026

- Reliability and stability improvements for audiobook playback.

Charts

Top Free

📉 78-4

Book

This app dropped -4 positions in Book chart.

Last updated on August 8, 2026.

User reviews

Very basic for audio books

I appreciate that there are bookmarks and at least there is a sleep timer, but a fixed 30 second rewind/advance is too much when you miss a couple words and need to jump back. Likewise, the smallest selection for the sleep timer is 15 min - too coarse. Often the timer selection takes many taps to register the selection and the bookmark button doesn’t respond. The slider for moving around in a chapter doesn’t update the time while moving it, so you can’t see how far you’ve moved it. The book stops playing if you go back to the general list of books display. That doesn’t show how far through you are, either as a percentage or time display.
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Love the options they offer but …

Would be nice if it would show you the books you already checked out Like a time line of when things got returned

Barely functional

Two stars for the huge book selection which is why I downloaded, but the functionality of the app is incredibly poor. Every single time I try to play audiobooks that I’ve checked out, the app says the audiobooks are unavailable and to try later; it takes a very frustrating amount of time restarting the app to get it to play (I’ve spent up to 30 minutes at a given time just trying to get anything to play). Other bugs include having to manually move to the next chapter because it’ll stop at the end of chapters and sometimes it will start jumping around the chapter. The app also will get up to 98% of downloading the book to the device and stop so it never actually downloads. This would be such a great app given the selection, but at this point it’s not worth the frustration. I hope these issues get solved & I can finish my book.
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Bare bones

This app is as bare bones as it gets. You can barely filter, and when you do - the minute you select something to view and return to the list, the filtering is gone. And forget about sorting…there is NONE.

As for information detail on the books, I’ve noticed several that had inaccurate data. For instance on Title: The Rumor Author: Elin Hilderbrand they have the publication date listed as 2026 when in fact it should be 2015.
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Almost impossible to use

I have downloaded this app on 3 devices, one newer and two older. It is extremely slow or just never works and we have to close the app and start all over again. A very frustrating user experience. Not sure how much we'll use it.

User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

4 issues

Books not downloading properly

Bug

Losing place in audiobooks

Bug

Crashing and freezing issues

Bug

Incompatibility with certain devices

Bug

Requested Features

4 requests

Ability to track read/listened books

Feature

Improved audiobook playback controls

Feature

Dark mode option

Feature

Integration with Kindle

Feature

FAQ

What is The Palace Project app?

The Palace Project is a free e-reader and audiobook app that allows users to discover, borrow, and read or listen to books from their local library's digital collection. It provides convenient access to a wide range of titles, including children's books, classics, and foreign language books.

How do I use The Palace Project app?

To use the app, you typically need a library card from a participating library to access its full collection. Once signed up, you can browse, check out, and read or listen to books directly within the app. Even without a participating library, you can access a selection of free books from the Palace Bookshelf.

Is The Palace Project app free to use?

Yes, The Palace Project app is completely free to download and use. It is a non-profit initiative built and maintained by Lyrasis in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements.

What kind of books can I find on The Palace Project?

The app offers access to a diverse range of books from your local library, including e-books and audiobooks. You can find popular fiction and non-fiction, children's literature, classics, and foreign language books. Additionally, the free Palace Bookshelf provides over 10,000 titles for immediate access.

What devices is The Palace Project app compatible with?

The provided description does not specify exact device compatibility. However, as a mobile application, it is generally designed to run on smartphones and tablets that support its operating system, typically iOS and Android. Users can check their respective app stores for specific compatibility information.