Research Guides: eBooks @ Reynolds Libraries: Start here

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What are eBooks?

eBooks are digital versions of books, delivered online.

For-profit companies provide digital books at a cost. These cost money, either to the user (like Kindle books purchased though Amazon) or to the college or university providing them.

Examples:

Ebook Central [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
Ebook Central provides access to a wide variety of multi-disciplinary ebooks with unlimited, multi-user access, powerful research tools, and DRM-free chapter downloads (Full text)
Oxford Academic eBooks This link opens in a new window
Oxford Scholarship Online provides access to academic eBooks in a wide variety of subject areas, with a concentration in the humanities and social sciences. (Full text)
Taylor & Francis eBooks This link opens in a new window
eBook collection covers a wide variety of disciplines including science, technology, engineering, medical, humanities and social science.

The collections of eBooks provided by Reynolds Libraries are purchased from for-profit companies by the college for use by students, faculty and staff.

Non-profit organizations also provide digital books at no cost to the end user. They may get their funding from foundations, colleges and universities, or federal, state and local governments.

Examples:

HathiTrust This link opens in a new window
The HathiTrust Digital Library contains millions of volumes of scanned books and other materials. About 20 percent of all content is in the public domain. You can also browse several public collections. Content is available in simage formats, text, and PDF. 1200s-present.
Open Library
An open source universal book catalog run by the Internet Archive. Open Library's primary goal is to create a web page for every book ever published.
Project Gutenberg This link opens in a new window
Thousands of digitized books all in the public domain (in general, published before 1923). Books include the classics and historic works. Over 50 languages.

Using eBooks

The Reynolds Libraries provides access to a variety of eBook database collections that come from different eBook vendors.

Search:

Most of our eBooks can be searched in our library catalog along with the print books.
eBooks can also be searched separately using the library's eBook databases.

Access and read:

Online. Read eBooks on your laptop, PC or mobile device web browser. Some eBook vendors have an app you can download on your mobile device.
Download. Download eBooks to PDF, then print or view offline. Some eBooks require Adobe Digital Editions for offline viewing.
Copy/paste and print. Some vendors offer unlimited printing, and some set percentage limits on eBooks. Remember to attribute what you copy, and only print what you really need.
Temporary download/borrow. Some eBooks can be borrowed for a short time and transferred to a device. After the loan period expires, eBooks cannot be used and must be downloaded again.

Use eBooks on the go. Each vendor works differently, as does each mobile device:

Transfer to device. Some eBooks can be transferred to a mobile device and used for a period of time.
Device browser (full web or mobile). Large screen tablets like iPads are big enough to be used for reading eBooks on the full website. Some vendors offer a mobile-optimized website for smaller screens.
Download directly to device.
App. Some vendors offer a native app to help with the discovery, download and reading of eBooks. However, not all devices are supported.