UL Library Systems, Applications and Online Services: Library eBooks

These are electronic books available in full text online. Some older eBooks that are no longer subject to copyright are made freely accessible online.

Recently published eBooks  however are subjected to Digital Rights Management (DRM), which is copyright protection for electronic resources. This copyright limits the duration of the loan of a downloaded/loaned out eBook title, and the allowed amount of copying, saving, emailing and printing.

Due to DRM, eBook downloading, copying, saving, emailing and printing options and restrictions will vary with each service provider / publisher / platform and their offered licence types. 

 

EBook Formats:

EBook files are either in PDF or ePub format. ePub format is the universally adopted format based on its ability to adapt and fit eBook contents to the dimensions of various Mobile device screens screen. 

PDF versions can be viewed within the service provider interface/website without downloading them.

 

Permissions & conditions of usage:

EBooks are made available on a license basis, that determine how, where, and when they may be used. Conditions of eBooks usage vary by platform and service provider. This includes:

• The total number of concurrent users allowed to access one title at a given time. Some eBook are purchased as 1-user-at-a-time.  If someone is currently viewing that eBook within their browser or has downloaded it, you will be denied access until that client is done viewing or or returning the book.

You can download/checkout titles that the library has purchased multiple copies or licenses of. When downloading an eBook title and you get an error message below it means that the library has one copy or one user license for that title. That specific title will not allow downloading or checkout for offline viewing, but can only be viewed online to ensure that everyone has access to it at all times.

 

 

• How many pages you may print
• For how long a downloaded eBook can be available offline. See example below 

 

 

 

 

You can access eBooks through the :

• Library All Resources Search
• Library Catalog

 

Accessing via the Library Catalog:

• Select the Advanced keyword option from the catalogue page
• Under format select E-Books  

 

Accessing via the All Resources Search:

• Conduct a keyword search
• Limit your search results by:
  • Held By Library
  • Format 

 

 

 

You can also select an eBook platform below to conduct searches directly:

• AccessMedicine - Over 95 core biomedical and health sciences textbooks, including Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Hurst's The Heart, Williams Obstetrics, and the Current Diagnosis & Treatment series.
• AccessPharmacy - Books and references on pharmacy education. 
• ClinicalKey -  More than 1000 eBooks in medicine and surgery.
• Ebook Central -  More than 1.2 million eBooks from more than 930 leading publishers covering all academic disciplines
• eBooks on EBSCOhost - Contains a large selection of multidisciplinary titles representing a broad range of academic subjects, including Behavioral Science, Business, Technology, Science, Literature, and Humanities
• Elsevier Book Series -  In-depth overview of topics, offering lengthy review articles which include a full account of ‘past, present and future’ in interdisciplinary areas.
• GeoScienceWorld -   Over 2120 collaborative and comprehensive eBooks on research and communications in the Earth Sciences.

 

EBook Collections Quick Comparison Chart

See tutorials below on how to conduct searches in these platforms 

 

The best browser to view these eBooks, without any known compatibility issues is Google Chrome ​. ​

 

Depending on publisher-specified limits, up to 100 pages per user can be printed, saved or emailed as a PDF file.

Note:

• Some titles may not allow for printing due to individual publisher-specified limits.
• The number of pages may vary depending on individual publisher-specified limits.
• When you reach your printing limit, the option to print or save eBook pages will temporarily be unavailable.

 

Steps on how to access EBSCOHOST eBooks :

 

• Click on the provided link form the catalogue or
• The  option from the EBSCO eBook Collection search page results 

 

            OR

• After the contents page loads. You can either view the title online by navigating through the chapters and pages by utilising links provided on the left hand side or the bottom of the page. You can also save or print a limited number of pages from a specific title

 

 

or 

 

• You can download a book and view it offline. To do this EBSCO will require you to first download and install Adobe Digital Editions in your pc or device. 
  • For Apple and Android devices: use the EBSCO eBooks App (free) from iTunes or Google Play.
  • For Kindle: PDFs can be created in the eBook Full-Text view and transferred using Send To Kindle.

 

• Secondly,  create a personal account/register yourself by clicking on the ‘Create new Account’ link.  If you have already created an account please click on the ‘Sign In’ link.
  • How to create a new account:
    • Click on the   button
    • Select 'Create a new Account'

 

• Provide all details required to create an account 

• Then sign in with your account

 

If you already have an account just click on 'Sign into my EBSCOhost'

 

To checkout & download a title:

• Select the number of days you want to borrow the book for -  maximum seven (7) days.
• Choose your preferred format
• Confirm that you have already downloaded and installed Adobe Digital Editions 
• Select the 'Full Download' button

 

• A download confirmation will be displayed once the title has been downloaded successfully

 

Note: Google Chrome will not prompt you to save the ACSM file; the downloaded file appears as URLLink.acsm in the download bar at the bottom of the browser. Click the download and select Open, or select Always open files of this type to automatically open future ACSM file downloads.

Once your selected checkout period has elapsed, you will need to download the e-book again (there is no renew option for e-books). The system will also not allow you to checkout a title if someone has already checked it out. 

 

How to view a downloaded title:

• Open your 'Downloads' folder and locate a file with a file extension ‘.acsm’,

 

• Double click on the title to load and view it

 

• When Adobe Digital Editions requires authentication,  select the 'I want to authorize my computer without an ID' option.

 

• Click on the 'Authorize' button.  

 

• Click on 'OK

 

• Your title will then be displayed

 

​Note: It might take time for a book to load depending on its size and you might have to refresh several times.

For more detailed instructions please see the EBSCO tutotials below

Open Adobe Digital Editions and view your bookshelf.

• Go to the 'Library' menu item. 
• Under Bookshelves, select 'Borrowed'
• Select the eBook you want to return.
• Right click the eBook to be returned to open the options menu
• Select 'Return Borrowed Item'.