Internet Resources

The Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) is a virtual library that you can access from your home computer, school computer lab, or smartphone – anywhere with an Internet connection.

Access to over 400,000 electronic resources including magazines, scholarly journals, podcasts, videos, e-books, test preparation materials, federal census records, Tennessee primary source materials, and more can all be found here.

All types of nonprofit libraries participate in TEL and benefit from the wide range of information TEL databases offer, including homework help to new readers, consumer health information, business resources, leisure reading suggestions, current event essays, academic and civil service test preparation help, and genealogy and family history sources.

Over 1.2 million searches are performed each month across the various TEL databases. Since 1999, the Tennessee Electronic Library has been dedicated to providing equal access to this expansive collection of electronic resources for all Tennesseans.

TEL saves individual libraries money by providing core reference materials, journals, newspapers and is of special benefit to smaller and rural libraries since they could not afford these databases on their own.

The Tennessee Electronic Library is made possible through funding provided by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. TEL is administered by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, Secretary Tre Hargett.

Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. offers over 100,000 digital e-books, audiobooks, and videos to patrons of public libraries that belong to the Regional Library System. These digital titles can be downloaded or streamed to your personal computer or a various portable devices such as smartphones, tablets or e-readers.

To use Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. go to https://libbyapp.com/. To get started or to search for an answer to a specific question click on the Help link found on the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.

If you have questions about R.E.A.D.S. or experience difficulty using the service, please contact R.E.A.D.S. Support at rsupport.tsla@tn.gov.


TEL4U is the Tennessee Electronic Library's website for grades Pre-K‐5 provides a safe place for kids to go online for educational and fun websites. 

The Tennessee Electronic Library is made possible through funding provided by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. TEL is administered by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, Secretary Tre Hargett.