The Palace Project review
A free mobile app that brings library ebooks and audiobooks from multiple vendors together.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
The Palace Project is a library-centered platform and mobile app for discovering, borrowing, reading, and listening to ebooks and audiobooks. It is designed for library patrons who want one place to browse participating collections, place holds, download borrowed titles, and access open-access and public-domain books. Borrowing uses a library card, while Palace Bookshelf provides access to free open-access content. The app is available on iOS and Android and is developed by LYRASIS in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America.
Its main strength is ecosystem fit. Libraries can combine content from Baker & Taylor Boundless, Blackstone Unlimited, BiblioBoard, OCLC cloudLibrary, OverDrive, OverDrive Advantage, Palace Marketplace, Palace Bookshelf, ProQuest, and Unlimited Listens. That gives patrons a unified discovery and borrowing experience across multiple digital vendors rather than requiring a separate app for every collection. Core capabilities include holds, downloads for offline reading or listening, audiobook playback, and accessibility settings for ebooks. The open-source core software also gives the platform a distinct library-technology orientation.
The Palace app is free for patrons. Libraries can acquire licensed content through Palace Marketplace, so the available catalog reflects the collections and services connected by each library. Its focus is therefore library borrowing rather than a general-purpose consumer subscription catalog. Readers with a library card and access to participating collections should find the model well aligned with borrowing ebooks and audiobooks on mobile devices. Readers seeking desktop or web access, or a broad consumer service independent of library participation, should choose a different audiobook app.
The Palace Project pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free patron access with library-card borrowing
- Combines catalogs from multiple library content vendors
- Supports offline downloads and audiobook playback
- Where it doesn't
- Borrowing depends on access to a participating library
- Available only on iOS and Android devices
- Catalog breadth depends on library collections and vendor coverage
The Palace Project fact sheet, pricing and score →
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