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J.W. Dickhaut Library

Finding, Accessing, & Using E-Books

A guide to finding ebooks through OPAL and some examples of specific providers of ebooks.

EBSCO Ebook Information

 

When you have found an EBSCO ebook in the OPAL catalog, the link within the item record will say "View online (all OPAL libraries)."

Clicking on this link will take you to a page that looks like this:

This is the ebook's homepage in EBSCO. On this page, you can view more information about the ebook.  To view the ebook, you may have several options. You can view it online. You may also be able to download it for viewing later as a PDF (computer) or EPUB (mobile/tablet) copy, but this will require a free ebook account with EBSCO and is subject to the number of copies that are available.  If you click the Full Download link on the lefthand side...

 

... a dialog box will open asking you to sign in or create an account.  You can create a free account with EBSCO which will give you access to the download.  See the Creating an EBSCO Account and the Downloading EBSCO Ebooks boxes below for more information. Please note, your download will automatically expire after 7 days. For more information about downloading, see the Downloading EBSCO Ebooks box below.

On the homepage, there is also a Tools menu where you have other options like emailing, citing, and exporting.

 

Viewing EBSCO Ebooks Online

All EBSCO ebooks can be viewed online. To view the ebook online, either click on the PDF/EPUB links to the left of the ebook's information or scroll down and select a link within the Table of Contents.

Once you click on the EPUB/PDF or Table of Contents link, the ebook will display in a separate window. In this window, you may have options to save, email, and print a limited number of pages. You may also be able to copy and paste from the text, and you can do this by selecting the text with your mouse, right clicking, and selecting Copy. You can then paste the text elsewhere.

You can move between chapters/sections by clicking on the title links within the Contents section or by using the arrows below the ebook viewing area. All ebook pages will appear in the right view window.

Creating an EBSCO Account

In order to download ebooks from EBSCO, you will need to create a free account. A free account will also give you options to save searches, citations, notes, and other information from EBSCO ebooks. This account will work for other EBSCO databases as well. A free account will also allow you to place holds on items that are downloaded. 

Downloading EBSCO Ebooks

 

Number of Copies Download Period
Unlimited Copies 7 Days

To determine how many copies are available, navigate to the ebook's homepage where you can see information about the ebook and its table of contents. From there, locate the access details, immediately above the table of contents. This area will tell you how many copies are available (1, 3, or unlimited) as well as whether you can print, save, email, copy, paste, etc.

Image for EBSCO Ebook Access Details

You can download select ebooks from EBSCO. You will be able to download them for 7 Days

Once you have determined that an ebook is downloadable, you can click on the Full Download button to the left of the ebook's information and follow the steps/prompts. You will have to be logged in to your account. To view the book offline, you will need to download a free software called Adobe Digital Editions. For more information about using Adobe Digital Editions, see the Using Adobe Digital Editions tab above.

Image of the Full Download Button EBSCO

Note about Restrictions

For various reasons, we cannot always purchase unlimited copies of an ebook. Also, some publishers restrict the downloading, printing, copying, and saving options. Finally, the download period cannot be adjusted by ebook; rather, it must be applied to all ebooks.