British Council Brings Free Digital Library to Egypt

Cairo, 5 May 2020: One consolation of these unusual times has been the quantity and quality of cultural works which have been made available for free – films, plays, books, museum visits, even tours of the Saqqara pyramids. The British Council now joins the great arts institutions of the world in a generous gesture.

The British Council offers you now free access to a great British Council digital library, for free. The British Council was long known to have one of the most popular and valuable English libraries in Egypt; this new Digital Library continues this tradition.




With teaching centres temporarily closed, the global education expert took this step to continue to support English learners with free online resources to help them improve their language skills.

Members aged 18 and above can register online and access thousands of newspapers, magazines, the best of British Theatre, independent films and box office movies, music concerts, E-Books and Audio Books and even comics All are now exceptionally available for free to Egyptians during the time of the coronavirus crisis.


Elizabeth White, Country Director of the British Council, said: ”During these difficult times, we want to continue to connect Egyptians with the best of the UK’s knowledge and resources. Our vision is that the future for the UK depends on people of all cultures living and working together on foundations of education, mutual understanding, respect and trust. Now, more than ever, we need to facilitate cultural exchange and collaboration. We invite you and your children to access this great treasure-house of creativity and culture - from your home”

Video-based training courses are also part of the online learning resources available that provide access to a vast library of career readiness and student engagement.




Although millions of learners across Egypt are deprived of attending school and university, the British Council upheld its mission of creating opportunities, especially through the English language. The Teaching Centres successfully led the region with the first virtual English classes for adults, after reorganizing the curriculum to deliver quality and effective learning. The National Teacher Training Programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, continued its English teacher training programme online to thousands across the country. British Council also began running an online English teacher training programme for teachers in Luxor, as part of the Tiba Project, in collaboration with Al Azhar, which aims to impact over 6,000 students at Al Azhar.

The Digital Library is a fun and entertaining way to practice English and interested members can register through the local website and have access to

Newspapers: 2,400 full-text newspapers from over 100 countries

Magazines: 4,000 full-colour, digital editions such as Newsweek for instant desktop and mobile reading. Library members can select both new and back issues, adding them to personal reading libraries with no holds, no checkout periods, and no limits to the number of magazines checked out

EBooks and Audio Books: Read or listen on the go to over 3,000 titles from all major publishers and authors
Comics and Graphic Novels: 1500+ comic titles are available to library members of all ages
Music: over 1,500 of live moments in music, full-length concerts and music documentaries streamed on-demand to any digital device
Independent Films: streaming movie service that offers access to over 7,000 pop culture favourites, box office hits, award-winning feature films, documentaries, and shorts. Library members can instantly view thousands of titles from around the world, including the best from classic TV, horror, comedy, film festival darlings
Theatre: The best of British theatre to teachers and students - library members can enjoy more than 600 productions, as well as talks and discussions from leading theatre practitioners
Academic Books: 100,000 eBooks in all academic subject areas along with powerful research tools. Subject areas include: Anthropology, Business and Economics, Computers & IT, Education, Engineering & Technology, Fine Arts, History, Language & Literature, Law, Life Sciences, Medicine, Physical Sciences, Psychology, Religion and Social Sciences
Software Training: online how-to training on hundreds of common software applications and devices, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, google Docs and IPad

In June, the first British Council Digital Libraries App will be launched, enabling customers to access the content from their smartphones anywhere, anytime.