This service is temporarily paused until notice that grant funding has been awarded to continue funding for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Books (print or audio) are delivered to you free and directly from Amazon, which you return to your local library when you are done.
Frequently Asked Questions
- None! But this service is for books the library does not own, and there are some parameters:
- You must have a library card in good standing with the Ventura County Library
- You are limited to 10 books a month
- You may order all 10 you are allowed at once or can order them in smaller batches or individually – but remember, only 10 in a month in total.*
- Titles must be available from Amazon
- Print books must be valued under $50. Audiobooks and foreign language books can be valued up to $75
- Books should not be available at our library (no prepublication orders or brand new releases, please)
- Please do not order textbooks or workbooks meant to be written in
Just fill out the form on the site. (But you might want to check our catalog and Amazon to see if a book is currently available from us and meets the criteria above).
- Enjoy your book
- After three weeks, return the book to your library branch and hand it to the staff, please.
- Put the Amazon receipt in the book, so we know it was a Zipbook (or put a note inside the book)
If the book meets our Collection Development Criteria, we will put it in the collection for others to enjoy.
Contact Zipbooks@ventura.org
A Message About Zipbooks
Hello Zipbook reader,
Thank you for your interest in Zipbooks. This grant-funded pilot project through the California State Library is currently on pause. As stated on our website, this was a pilot project that was dependent on grant funding staff was able to procure. We have relayed the popularity of this program to our partners and have applied for renewed funding. If funded, we will reopen our Zipbooks website and post notices.
We encourage you to continue to provide direct input on titles you are interested in your library carrying at the "Tell Us What to Buy" page on our website. All submissions go directly to the Branch Manager of your library for consideration in the local collection.
Thank you,
--Your Zipbooks Team @ VCL