Discover is a set of free book catalogs built into BookShelves. Every book in it is in the public domain, and a download lands in your library like any other book.
Where to find it
- iPhone: tap the Discover tab, then pick a catalog with the Source switcher at the top.
- iPad and Mac: open the Discover section in the sidebar. Each catalog has its own row.
The catalogs
| Catalog | What’s in it |
|---|---|
| Standard Ebooks | Carefully edited and typeset classics. |
| Public Domain (shown as Public Domain Books in the iPad and Mac sidebar) | A very large collection of free classics in many languages. |
| Internet Archive | Digitized public domain books. |
| Aozora Bunko | Japanese classic literature. Its language filter starts on Japanese. |
| Biblioteca Nacional | Spanish classics from the Biblioteca Nacional de España. |
Search and browse
- Type in the search field and press Return (or Search on the keyboard). Clear the field to go back to the full list.
- The Filter books menu in the toolbar has Language and Sort By (title or author).
- Tap a genre under Filter by Genre to narrow the list, and Clear to remove it.
- Switch between grid and list with the view button in the toolbar.
- More books load as you scroll.
Download a book
- Tap a book to open its details.
- Tap Download EPUB (or Download PDF, where the catalog offers one).
- When the import finishes, the button changes to In Library. Tap it to open the book’s page in your library.
Books already in your library show an In Library badge in the list.
Note: Downloads count toward the free version’s 10-book limit. See BookShelves Pro.
“Not Available in Your Region”
A book can be public domain in one country and still under copyright in another, because copyright lasts a different number of years after the author’s death (70 years in the EU, the UK and the US, 50 in Canada, 60 in India). BookShelves checks each title against the rules of your App Store country:
- Titles you can’t download where you are are dimmed, marked Not Available in Your Region, and sorted to the end of the list.
- Their detail page shows a copyright notice instead of the download buttons.
The age check
The first time you open Discover, BookShelves asks you to confirm that you are 13 or older.
- On macOS 26 and iOS 26 or later, tap Verify Age. Apple’s age range check answers for you; BookShelves never sees your birthday.
- On earlier versions, or if the system check doesn’t work, choose I am 13 or older or I am under 13.
If you’re under 13, Discover shows Discover Unavailable. Your answer is remembered across your devices.
Hide Discover
If you don’t use it, turn on Hide Discover Section in Settings > General.
Discover is not available in mainland China.