Udemy Free With a Library Card: How Gale Presents Udemy Works

Written by Mustafa Bilgic, Operator Sources checked: September 27, 2026
✓ Last Updated: September 2026 | Checked against official sources by Mustafa Bilgic, Operator

Many public libraries subscribe to Gale Presents: Udemy, a library version of Udemy Business that you can use free with a library card. You start from your library's link, create a separate Udemy account, and can take as many courses as you like with no time limit. In Vermont it comes through the statewide online library for anyone with a public library card. Use the checker below to see the rules for your library.

Can you use Udemy through your library?

Choose your library and answer three quick questions. The checker shows who can sign up, how to get in and the rules that trip people up, taken from each library's page and Gale's own help pages.

Your answer will show here.

Plan when you will finish a course

Enter the course's video length and how much time you can give it. The planner counts study sessions from your start date, with your study days at the start of each week.

Your finish date will show here.

Libraries that offer Gale Presents: Udemy

Gale offers Udemy to libraries as Gale Presents: Udemy, which Memphis and Knox County describe as the Gale Presents platform for Udemy Business. In Vermont it comes through the statewide Vermont Online Library for anyone with a public library card; elsewhere, library systems subscribe for their own cardholders. These 16 are the ones we confirmed on the library's own page.

LibraryStateWho can use itWhat the library says it includes
Vermont Online Library (statewide)VTAnyone with a card from a Vermont public library (school and college logins do not work for Udemy)Over 20,000 video courses
Los Angeles Public LibraryCALAPL library card holdersJob skills, software and personal development courses
Long Beach Public LibraryCALong Beach Public Library card holdersThousands of tech and workplace courses
Denver Public LibraryCOPermanent library card holdersBusiness, cloud, cybersecurity, data science, AI and more
Phoenix Public LibraryAZPhoenix Public Library card holdersCourses in 75+ categories and more than 12 languages
Austin Public LibraryTXAustin Public Library card holdersThousands of courses in 75 categories, replaced monthly
San Antonio Public LibraryTXSan Antonio Public Library usersMore than 12,000 courses in 75 categories
Dallas Public LibraryTXDallas Public Library users (the eResources list marks it Login Required)10,000+ courses
Amarillo Public LibraryTXAmarillo Public Library card holders, from anywhereThousands of courses in 75 categories
Memphis Public LibrariesTNMemphis library usersThousands of courses in 75 categories and 12 languages
Knox County Public LibraryTNKnox County Public Library card holdersThousands of courses in 75 categories and 12 languages
Enoch Pratt Free LibraryMDPratt Library card holders, in any Pratt location or from home3,500+ courses
St. Louis County LibraryMOSt. Louis County Library card holders aged 13 or olderThousands of courses in 75 categories, replaced monthly
Milwaukee Public LibraryWIAll library card holders in Milwaukee County10,000+ courses
Boulder Public LibraryCOBoulder Public Library card holdersNearly 20,000 courses; 7,000+ in more than 12 languages
Vernon Area Public LibraryILVernon Area Public Library cardholdersThe top ten percent of Udemy courses in its categories

From each library's own page, read September 27, 2026. Many other libraries offer it too; look for Gale Presents: Udemy or Udemy in your library's online resources list.

How signing up works

Gale's tip sheet and the library pages describe the same steps:

  1. Start from your library's link. Most of these libraries check your library card at this step. Vermonters go to the Vermont Online Library, choose their library, log in with a card number and open Gale Presents: Udemy from Featured Resources.
  2. Click Sign In/Create a Udemy Account. Gale says to use this button every time so it can keep track of your learning.
  3. Pick an account type. You can create a Gale User Account with any email address and password, or sign in with Google or Microsoft. Phoenix Public Library adds that the password should not be the same as your library card password.
  4. Confirm your email and age. Phoenix describes verifying your email address and choosing your birth year, and Gale says you will be asked to verify that you are 13 the first time you sign in.

Gale's help page covers two sign-up problems. If you see a Technical Difficulties error after entering your birth year on an Apple device, finish sign-up in Chrome, Edge or Firefox instead of Safari. If you use Google, your Google account needs at least a last initial. Forgot your password? Use Need help signing in? and then Forgot password? on the sign-in page.

Rules that trip people up

  • Your personal Udemy account is separate. Memphis Public Libraries and Knox County Public Library say the library platform will not reconnect to an earlier Udemy account and keeps its own course history. Austin Public Library says people with a direct Udemy account need to create a new account.
  • Age. Milwaukee Public Library and St. Louis County Library say you must be 13 or older, and St. Louis County asks a parent or guardian to create the account for anyone under 18.
  • Location. Denver Public Library says you cannot use Udemy while outside Colorado or on a VPN, and Long Beach Public Library requires logging in from within California and warns that a VPN can lock you out.
  • Card type. Denver limits it to permanent library card holders, and Vermont's statewide access needs a public library card, not a school or college login.
  • Passwords away from the library. Memphis asks for a password when you connect from outside the library and sends it on request.

Austin adds one helpful rule: if you already signed up through another library, you can use that same login.

What you get, and how big the catalog is

Gale describes on-demand video courses in business, tech, design and more across 75 categories. The course counts libraries quote differ a lot: Pratt lists 3,500+, Milwaukee and Dallas 10,000+, San Antonio more than 12,000, Boulder nearly 20,000 and Vermont over 20,000. Gale's own page says 25,000+ courses, and its feature list mentions more than 30,000 across 75 categories. Vernon Area Public Library puts it as the top ten percent of Udemy courses.

Language options go well beyond English. Gale lists an international collection of 15,000+ courses in 15 languages, and Los Angeles Public Library says you can switch the interface language and filter for courses in Spanish, Japanese, Russian and Chinese.

Gale's tip sheet lists the rest: courses range from beginner to advanced, you can enroll in as many as you like with no completion time limit, most videos have closed captions, and finishing all course content earns a certificate of completion. Milwaukee Public Library also says learners get a certificate when the video course is finished.

There is a phone app too. Knox County Public Library says library accounts work in the Udemy Business app, where you can download lessons; when the app asks for your organization, type gale so it shows gale.udemy.com. Milwaukee recommends setting up your account on a desktop computer first.

For other free courses on the same card, see our guides to free online courses through the library and LinkedIn Learning with a library card.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Udemy free with a library card?

Yes, where your library subscribes to Gale Presents: Udemy. Memphis Public Libraries says you should not be charged a fee when you use the library's access, and Vernon Area Public Library notes Udemy is otherwise usually available only through an employer or a paid subscription.

Can I use my existing Udemy account with the library?

No. Memphis and Knox County say the library platform will not reconnect to an earlier Udemy account, and Austin says people with a direct Udemy account need to create a new one. Your library account keeps its own course history.

Do you get a certificate from Udemy through the library?

Yes. Gale's tip sheet says completing all course content earns a certificate of completion, and Milwaukee Public Library says the same.

How old do you have to be to use Udemy through the library?

At least 13. Gale asks you to verify that you are 13 the first time you sign in, and St. Louis County Library asks a parent or guardian to create the account for users under 18.

Can I use library Udemy outside my state or with a VPN?

Some libraries block it. Denver says you cannot use it outside Colorado or on a VPN, and Long Beach requires logging in from within California. Check your library's page before you travel.

Is there a Udemy app for library users?

Yes. Library accounts work in the Udemy Business app. Knox County says to type gale as the organization so it shows gale.udemy.com, and the app lets you download lessons.

Related Library Guides

Free Online Courses Through the Library Library Online Courses Compared LinkedIn Learning With a Library Card Free Computer Classes at the Library Free IT Certifications Through the Library Library Job Search Resources

Sources

Every rule, fee and figure on this page comes from the official page listed here. We read each one on September 27, 2026. Gale's product page stores its feature list inside the page code, and Phoenix Public Library's page stores its text the same way; we read both from there.