eBooks

Ready for eBooks? This guide will help you access the eBooks available to you at Ripon College.

What are eBooks?

An electronic book, or eBook, is a book that is available online in a full text format. Ebooks offer convenient access and enhanced search capabilities. The way you access, read, and use an eBook varies depending on restrictions put in place by the publisher of the book.

How do I read an eBook?

EBooks can be viewed on any computer via a web browser. Some publishers will allow you to download eBook content to your computer or transfer it to a mobile device. See the “Downloading” tab for more information.

Where do I find eBooks?

Ripon College has thousands of eBooks covering a wide variety of subjects. See “eBook Collections” tab for an overview of what the Library has available. Most of the instructions in this guide are referring to our EBSCO eBook collection, as it is our largest; however, please contact a librarian if you have any questions on accessing the various eBooks available.

Where are the browser requirements?

Minimum browser requirements are: Internet Explorer 7.0, FireFox8.0, Google Chrome 16, or Safari 5.1 (Macintosh). For further information, please click here.

How long can I “check-out” a downloaded EBSCO eBook?

You can view an EBSCO eBook at any time; if you choose to download or “checkout” an EBSCO eBook for viewing off-line, you will have the option of checkout from 1 to 60 days.

Are downloaded EBSCO ebooks automatically removed from my computer after the checkout has expired?

No, EBSCO eBooks do not magically go “poof” and disappear, leaving your files nice and neat. After an EBSCO eBook checkout has expired, the downloaded eBook file can still be found in Digital Editions but can not be opened. You must manually delete the file from Digital Editions to remove it from your computer.

Can I access eBooks from off-campus?

Yes. From off-campus you can view the eBook record in the library catalog. However, the in-catalog link is not working properly. If you run into this problem, you can go to the home library page and access the EBSCO eBook database. Once you login to the proxy server using your Ripon ID and password, you will be able to access the eBook fully, and download. We are working on making this a more seamless process, but we are not quite there yet. If you have any questions, please contact us directly.”;}i:2;a:3:{s:5:”title”;s:24:”Finding and Using eBooks”;s:4:”open”;b:0;s:7:”content”;s:1891:”

Finding eBooks in our Library Catalog

Many of the Library’s ebooks can be found by doing a search in the Library Catalog.

• Search by keyword, author, title, or subject in the Library Catalog.
• EBook records will often have [electronic resource] after the title, the collection location will be “EBOOK”,there will be a link to the eBook, and there will be no call number.
• To view the ebook, click on the “EBSCO HOST EBOOK ACCESS HERE” link in the record.

Below is a sample view of an eBook record in the catalog, with the access and collection points discussed above circled in red.

Finding eBooks directly through EBSCO

Our EBSCO eBook collection is both browsable and searchable directly through the EBSCO eBook site.

If you still have more questions, please view this “searching EBSCO eBooks” tutorial In this short video tutorial, learn how to search EBSCO eBooks.

There are a few key features when using EBSCO eBooks:

• Search by keyword
• Browse by category
• Search within a book
• Use the embedded dictionary
• Use the citation generator
• Email book chapters

Download EBSCO eBooks when you want or need to read them off-line. Why? Most EBSCO eBooks have unlimited users, which means you have online access to most of them whenever you need.

Once you have found an eBook online, if you would like to view it you can either click on the “eBook full text” button, or on a specific line of the table of contents. Below is a clip from an eBook record on the EBSCO eBook site:

Decided to download?

If this is a title you are interested in and would like to go ahead with the download, you need to do the following two things: you need Adobe Digital Editions and a “My EBSCO Host” account. If you would prefer to watch a tutorial first, please view EBSCO’s downloading eBooks tutorial.

Adobe Digital Editions
Adobe Digital Editions is an off-line digital reading utility that will allow you to download, manage, and read electronic documents. You must have an Adobe ID, Adobe Digital Editions, and the Adobe Reader Plugin installed on your computer to download e-books from the EBSCOhost eBooks Collection.

• Download Digital Editions

– Make sure that you have Adobe Digital Editions installed on your computer. Adobe Digital Editions is available for free download.

• Digital Editions Password

– You will need to activate Adobe Digital Editions on your computer by creating an Adobe ID and password, and then you need to log into Adobe Digital Editions. If you’ve previously created an Adobe account but can’t recall your password, reset your password at Adobe.

• Digital Editions Features

– View many of the features available on Digital Editions.

• Digital Editions FAQs

– Find many of the general questions answered here.

My EBSCOhost account
You will need a My EBSCOhost account if you wish to download or “check-out” EBSCO ebooks. Creating an account will alow you to checkout, view and download eBooks, as well as organize your research with folders and save and retrieve your search history. This one account and sign in will work across the various EBSCO databases.

• Create a My EBSCOhost account

– Click on the Sign In link on the EBSCOhost tool bar at the top of the EBSCOhost search page to create a My EBSCOhost account, if you do not already have one.

“;}i:4;a:3:{s:5:”title”;s:14:”Mobile Devices”;s:4:”open”;b:0;s:7:”content”;s:2731:”Do you want to download an EBSCO eBook to a mobile device? Good news is that you can, with a few extra steps. Most smart phones and tablets are automatically directed to the mobile version of EBSCO, optimizing ebook viewing on these mobile devices. In addition, EBSCO offers apps for Apple iOS and Android devices.

You can also checkout and download eBooks directly to your computer using Adobe Digital Editions, and then transfer them to your mobile device for offline reading. If you have questions as to whether your device will work with Adobe Digital Editions, please see the EBSCO eBook site.

Bluefire Reader for Apple and Android devices

Bluefire Reader is a free eBook reader app available for Apple (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) and Android devices. This app allows you to view Adobe Digital Rights Management(DRM) protected eBooks in PDF and EPUB formats.

For further information and to download the apps, see the Bluefire Reader User Guide.

Transfer EBSCO eBooks to a mobile device

Follow the instructions below to transfer EBSCO eBooks that you have already downloaded on your computer. If you would like to watch a tutorial on how to download EBSCO eBooks on your iPad, please follow this link.

• Open your downloaded EBSCO eBook in Adobe Digital Editions. You will be prompted to enter your Adobe ID and password the first time you try to open an EBSCO eBook with Adobe Digital Editions on your computer.
• Connect your mobile device to your computer.
• Adobe Digital Editions will automatically detect the presence of your device and will offer to authorize it with your Adobe ID. The mobile device must also be authorized to be able to transfer protected content to and from the device.
• After authorization, the device appears as a new bookshelf in your library.
• Transfer items to and from the device bookshelf by clicking on the book title, then dragging and dropping the title into the device bookshelf.
• Apple iOS and Android devices require additional software, such as Bluefire Reader (refer to above “Bluefire” section for help) to work with Adobe Digital Editions. See the Adobe Digital Editions for additional help.

There are many different ways to find eBooks. We have a couple of eBook collections incorporated into the Ripon College Library catalog. There are also a few free eBook collections that are worthwhile as well.

eBook Database Collections

These are eBook collections that also include records that are searchable in the Ripon College Library Catalog

• EBSCO eBook Collection

  There are nearly 120,000 eBooks in this collection representing a broad range of academic subject matter, including titles from leading university presses.

• Humanities eBook Project

  A fully searchable collection of over 3,000 e-books in the humanities.

Free eBook Collections

Below are eBook collections that available through the web.

• Google Book Search

  Google, partnering with libraries worldwide, has digitized millions of books from library collections, including hundreds of books related to Old English literature, with various translations and editions. If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given permission, you’ll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it’s in the public domain, you’re free to download a PDF copy.

• HathiTrust

  As a digital repository for the nation’s great research libraries, HathiTrust brings together the immense collections of partner institutions (including Google and Internet Archive).

• Internet Archive

  Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering access to millions of free books, movies, and audio files.

• Project Guttenberg

  Project Gutenberg offers over 42,000 free ebooks: choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online.