eBooks (electronic books)
eBooks (electronic books) are electronic versions of the printed books that you might find on the shelf in the Library and present a number of benefits and advantages:
- they can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on or off-campus via the Web
- they free up valuable library space
- they provide additional functionality such as hyperlinking, keyword searching, annotation, and may be interactive
Our eBooks are supplied by a variety of providers and major publishers. The Library is actively building its collection of eBooks and as with printed books we are happy to receive recommendations for purchase, though please be aware that not all printed books are available in an electronic format.
Finding eBooks
A growing number of eBooks purchased by the Library may be searched for and accessed using the Library Catalogue. Search for eBooks in the same way as you would for a printed book, using title and author information. New eBook titles are added to the Catalogue on a regular basis.
Please note: you can restrict your Catalogue search to eBooks by changing the 'Material type' category to 'eBooks'.
Having found a record for an eBook in the Catalogue you will notice a 'View electronic version' hyperlink toward the right-hand side of the screen (eBooks have no location or classmark and have separate catalogue records from printed items). The hyperlink will take you directly to the eBook and if you are asked to login, use your University username & password.
The Library is actively adding records to the Catalogue for its subscription based collections of eBooks, the latest of which comprise our Cambridge Companions Online, Oxford Scholarship Online, and Handbooks in Economics collections. MetaLib: your resource gateway currently provides access to these collections, as well as all other academic eBook collections that the Library subscribes to, and several others that are freely available.
The link above takes you to a list of eBook resources with brief details. Click on the info icon to display the full details. Alternatively, eBook resources in MetaLib (cross-search) lists the same resources, but with a cross-search option.
Using eBooks
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Reading online
To be able to read eBooks online, including all illustrations and special characters, you may need special software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Note: many eBooks are encoded in Portable Document Format, or PDF. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 
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Usage restrictions
Publishers and copyright owners will determine how much of any particular eBook can be printed, copied, or downloaded and this will vary from one to another. Some eBooks will only display page by page, therefore you will not be able to download and save several pages in one go, again this practice varies depending on the supplier of the eBook.
The number of pages you will be able to print or copy may be limited by the publisher using DRM (Digital Rights Management) and once these limits are reached, the publisher will not allow you to print or copy any further text. Publishers may withdraw access to an eBook if evidence of copyright abuse is detected.
Information about how much you may copy, print, or download from an eBook is given on suppliers' websites and has been summarised in the table below.
eBooks service provider |
Printing and copying |
Downloading |
|
Cambridge Companions Online |
Users may access, search and view individual chapters for personal use only. Print, copy and download permissions may vary from collection to collection depending on the sensitivity and rights available for the content. Unless otherwise stated in the Terms of Use, users may make copies, printed or otherwise, of one chapter or up to 5% of the pages from each Cambridge Companions Online title, whichever is greater. |
Unless otherwise stated in the Terms of Use, users may download one chapter or up to 5% of the pages from each Cambridge Companions Online title, whichever is greater. |
|
CRCnetBASE (Taylor & Francis) |
Not protected by DRM. Users can print and copy chapter by chapter. Copyright law is still applicable. |
Not protected by DRM. Users can download chapter by chapter. Copyright law is still applicable. |
|
dawsonera |
In line with the 'fair dealing' rules of copyright protection, a reader may print 5% of the book and copy 5% of the text – but no more than that. The user will be informed of how many pages are left to print or copy. N.B. If you download the book you cannot print from the download. You can only print when using the online reader. Please bear in mind that dawsonera eBooks are made available with an annual credit limit. If the number of credits is exhausted then the eBook may become unavailable for a short time while the Library purchases additional credits. |
It is possible to download dawsonera eBooks to, for example, a PC, a laptop, mobile/tablet devices, or a memory stick for between 1 - 7 days. Step-by step instructions describing how to download to either Apple iOS devices, e.g., iPad, and iPhone or Android devices, e.g., Nexus are available. Please only download the eBook for the number of days that you actually need it for. For example, if you only need the eBook for 1 day, please select 1 day. Selecting 7 days will use up 7 credits. After download the book cannot be kept forever - access will be denied after the selected number of days. However the eBook can be re-downloaded as often as required. Please bear in mind that dawsonera eBooks are made available with an annual credit limit. If the number of credits is exhausted then the eBook may become unavailable for a short time while the Library purchases additional credits. |
|
MyiLibrary |
Users can print chapters, sections or pages for use in research within the copyright restrictions of the title. Please bear in mind that MyiLibrary eBooks are subject to concurrency limitations and in certain circumstances the MyiLibrary system may prevent you from gaining access while other members of the University are using the same book. On these occasions you may need to return to the eBook at a later time. |
Publishers and copyright owners determine how much of any particular eBook can be copied or printed. Your eBook may also be displayed page by page. In order to protect the copyright holder's content, users cannot save the entire eBook in one go. Please bear in mind that MyiLibrary eBooks are subject to concurrency limitations and in certain circumstances the MyiLibrary system may prevent you from gaining access while other members of the University are using the same book. On these occasions you may need to return to the eBook at a later time. |
|
Oxford Scholarship Online |
Users can print up to a single chapter from each Oxford Scholarship Online title, or up to 5% of the pages of any title, whichever is greater. |
Users can download an individual chapter from each Oxford Scholarship Online title, or up to 5% of the pages of any title, whichever is greater. |
|
ScienceDirect |
Users may print content from the website for their own personal, non-commercial use, provided that they keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. Users may not engage in systematic retrieval of content from the website to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory without prior written permission from Elsevier. |
Users may download content from the website for their own personal, non-commercial use, provided that they keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. Users may not engage in systematic retrieval of content from the website to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory without prior written permission from Elsevier. |
|
SpringerLink |
Not protected by DRM. Users can print chapter by chapter. Copyright law is still applicable. |
Not protected by DRM. Users can download chapter by chapter. Copyright law is still applicable. |
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eBooks, eBook readers, and mobile devices
eBooks can be accessed and used on desktop computers and also on a wide variety of mobile devices, e.g., laptops, mobile phones, tablet PCs and dedicated eBook readers. The ability to use eBooks on mobile devices, and to what extent, will depend largely on the device and its compatability with particular digital file formats and third party software applications (apps). IT Services provide advice and support for Mobile technology, principally smartphones and tablets. The Ask It service also allows members of the University to seek advice about mobile technology from Bristol's staff and student community.
Off-campus access
If you want to access eBooks away from the campus please visit the access to electronic library resources page for advice and further information.
Known problems, help and contacts
If you have encountered any difficulty with a particular eBook, to read about general access problems, or for advice and support with electronic resources please see our help and contacts for eResources page.