E-books -Quick Guide

Why use e-books?

  • Available 24/7 on and off campus
  • Searchable content
  • No fines
  • Download or read on mobile devices, to take with you everywhere you go – Please note that this does not include Kindles or some tablets, and may require extra software

The library owns around 6000 e-books, andhas made an extra 90,000 available for you to loan on demand.

Accessing e-books

  • Open the Library and Learning Services website at
  • Use the Library Search box link
  • Enter your search terms e.g. Study skills,and click on Go. E-books will be hyperlinked in blue
  • Filter by e-booksby clicking on Full Text Online under Show Only in the left-hand menu, then selectBooks from Resource Type- log into a computer to view these, as they will not be available on the fixed library search machines
  • Choose the e-book you want to read and click on the title or View It

Enter your Athens username and password to access the book

Reading and downloading

  • Books can be Read Online or downloaded up to 7 days depending on the provider
  • Once the download period expires, you cannot open the downloaded copy, but books can be downloaded again as many times as you wish by following the procedure above
  • Once you have logged on once with your Athens, you do not need to enter it again in the same session to read other e-books
  • If Reading online, You can navigate through the books by clicking on the arrow keys to move between pages, or clicking on the chapter headings
  • Search the content of the book by selecting the search option, or add notes (you may need to log in to do this)

Differences between e-book suppliers

Dawsonera

  • If downloading, first select the number of days, then click on Download. You will need to have Adobe Reader installed
  • NOTE: It is not possible to print from downloaded books

EBL Ebook Library

  • Books can be downloaded off campus only using Adobe Digital Editions. You will need to create an Adobe ID the first time you use it. On campus the Download tab is greyed out
  • To view entire collection, go to ‘EBL’ on the top menu if you are reading a book, or ‘Bookshelf’ if you are just viewing book details. This will also show you which books you have viewed or loaned. You can also create your own ‘Collections’ from this screen
  • You may be asked if you want to ‘loan’ a book (see example below) or fill in a short registration form after browsing for 5 minutes. You will not be charged for this and your details will be used for statistical purposes only

My iLibrary

  • You must register/log in to use the various functions, including notes and to be able to download the complete book. Otherwise only 10 pages can be downloaded using the ‘Download’ icon.

Printing and Copying

You are only allowed to print or copy 5% of the e-book when reading online, but you will be told exactly how much when you open each e-book and click on Print

Adobe Reader‘Read Out Loud’

Dawsonera books have an extra feature called Adobe Reader ‘Read Out Loud’ which allows the book to be read aloud by the computer. To use this simply hold the control, shift and Y keys down at the same time.

Having problems?

  • Upgrade to a newer version of Adobe Reader or Adobe Digital editions
  • If only one page at a time downloadsfor Dawsonera books, in the Adobe Reader menu try Edit> Preferences> Internet and make sure that “display PDF in browser” is enabled
  • You may have to allow pop-ups
  • Upgrade your browser

If you have any further questions contact us at

Jan 2013