NLS BARD Support: One Person, one Account

The NLS BARD rule of "one person, one account” is easy to remember and offers many advantages. Here are a few scenarios, drawn from questions asked by patrons, which can help clarify this point.

 1. You usually use BARD Mobile on your iPhone, but you need to take your iPad to a medical appointment that will involve hours of waiting. Could your books be loaded to the iPad without compromising your account and downloads to the phone?

Absolutely. If you use BARD Mobile, you are allowed to add up to five mobile devices in a 365-day period. That could be one phone and one tablet, or, if you have them, a mix of iOS and android devices. Of course, most people find just one or two devices to be sufficient, but your account has room to grow if you need it. Within each 30-day period, you are allowed to download up to 100 books with BARD Mobile. If you want to spread them out over two or three mobile devices, you can. If you download the same book to two devices, so you can start it on your iPhone and finish it on your iPad, for instance, it will only count as one book against your 100 books for the 30-day period.

2. You decide that you want to change your email address. Do you need to close your BARD account and get a new one with the new address?

No. You can keep your BARD account and change your email address/login ID to your new one. BARD communicates with users via email. If you cannot receive email messages from your current email address, you must change your email address/login ID in BARD. You can do this yourself by following the instructions below.

1. Click the Account Settings link on the BARD main page.
2. On the resulting page, follow the link to update your email address. (Note that a change in your email address will prompt a password reset.)
3. Follow the instructions in the email BARD sends you that contains a temporary password that is to be used to log into your BARD account.
4. Once you’re logged in, follow the prompts to create your new password.

Or you can write to us for help if needed. And remember, when you write to us, if your login address is different from the address on your message, be sure to tell us.  

3. You are moving from one state to another, but you still want to download your BARD books and magazines. Do you need to close the account in one state and open another?

No. The account is your account, and it can go with you throughout the United States or even abroad. If you move out of your regional library's service area, just call or email them with your new address. They will transfer your account to the new library. You do not even have to change your email login ID or password.

4. Your daughter has been downloading books for you, so you used her email address to log in. She is moving away, and your neighbor is going to help. Can you change the login email to be your neighbor's email address for his convenience?

Yes, you can. Changing the email login means changing the password, too, for your protection, but your account does not change. Remember: One person, one account.

If you need help with any of the above scenarios or any other, we are here. Just send a message to us at nlsdownload@loc.gov.