LibGuides: E-books: Home (2024)

Home

E-books @OU

University of Oklahoma faculty, students, and staff have access to a wide range of e-books through the University Libraries' website.

Most e-books are subscription or purchased resourcesso you will need to signin to the library's website with your OU username (4x4) and password to view the full content if you are off-campus.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) free e-books do not have limits on how many pages you can download, print, or copy. If you download DRM free e-books they will not disappear from your device.
E-books using DRM can sometimes be downloaded in their entirety to your computer but the file will automatically be removed after a set period of time.
E-book collections vary in how they limit the number of concurrent users who can access a title.
A small number of e-books are published as Open Access, meaning they are freely available to view online.

Search OU Libraries

Advanced Search|Local Catalog

Interlibrary Loan and Collection Purchases

If you find that the library doesn't have a book which you require for your own research you can use interlibrary loan.

If you think a book would be a useful addition to the Library collections, please let us know

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I return a checked out ProQuest or EBSCO e-book early?

ProQuest e-booksexpire automatically at the end of a loan, andcannot be returned early.Deleting the e-book file from Adobe Digital Editions deletes the e-book file from your device, but does not end the loan.

EBSCO e-books can be returned early. To return an e-book before it is due:

Downloaded E-Books

Downloaded e-books can be checked in before the end of the check out period using Adobe Digital Editions. E-books can only be checked in using the desktop version of Adobe Digital Editions. They cannot be checked in when using Adobe Digital Editionson a mobile device.

Open Adobe Digital Editions on your computer.
On theLibrary Viewscreen of Adobe Digital Editions, hold your pointer over the e-book you would like tocheck in and click the arrow in the top left corner.
ClickReturn Borrowed Item.
Click theReturnbutton to confirm you would like to return the e-book.
The e-book is checked in and removed from your Library View screen and is available to other patrons.

E-Books Viewed Online

E-books that are being viewed online can be “closed” and made available to other users by clicking theResult List,New Search,Back, orExitlinks in the eBook Viewer.

2. Are library e-books available to multiple users at a time?

Some vendors sell their e-books with an unlimited user model while others sell their e-books with a single user, limited user, or linear model. To learn which e-book vendors use which model, visit theDownload, Printing, and Copying Permissionsby E-Book Collectionsection of this libguide.

3. Can I download an entire e-book?

It depends. Some e-book vendors, such as Springer and Oxford, allow full e-book PDF download, while others limit downloads to chapter PDFs or to a certain number of pages.To learn which e-book vendors allow what type of downloads, visit theDownload, Printing, and Copying Permissionsby E-Book Collectionsection of this libguide.

4.How do I know what restrictions are on an e-book in terms of copyingandprinting?

Each e-book vendor has their own restrictions on how much can be copied or printed from an e-book.To learn how much each e-book vendorallows, visit theDownload, Printing, and Copying Permissionsby E-Book Collectionsection of this libguide.

5.Why can I no longer access a title?

Some titles may have been part of a trial or part ofa collection to which we no longer have access to.Sometimes e-books are pulled from a vendor's website because they have lost the rights to the title. Forothers, the user limit may have been reached. If you are having trouble accessing an e-book, you can reach out viaemailand someone will assist you.

6. What doesnonlinear/concurrent mean?

Under the Non-Linear & Concurrent Access models, titles are not restricted to linear distribution (one patron at a time)but rather they can be lent to any number of users concurrently. There are a set number of lending days per title per year, typically up to 325 days. Lending days reset annually. The number of days used for each loan is subtracted from the total number of annual loan days available for the title. For example, if four users each trigger a five day loan for the same title, 20 days are deducted from the title’s 325 loan days. The combined number of loan days cannot exceed the annual loan days in a year.

Search for E-Books @ OU

Finding E-Books in OU Libraries

If you know the title of the book you're looking for, you can use Discover to search for that title through the libraries' homepage or on the Home sectionof this guide. Some titles may show up as "Multiple Versions Found" if we have print and electronic versions. If you only want to see e-books for a given topic, limit your search to Full Text Online.

Example:

1. Search for the book title, 'Emery and Rimoin's Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics'.

2. If multiple versions are found, look for the version that says "Online Access" and then click on the book title or the "Online Access" hyperlink.

3. Click the full text availablelink under"View It," and you will be directed to the e-book provider's platform. You may be prompted to enter your username (your4x4) and passwordto access the e-book platform.

4. E-books come in several file types, but some of the most common are PDF, EPUB, and Amazon Kindle (.azw3, .azw, .kf8) files.In this case, you can download PDFs of the book.

Other E-Book sources

Other E-book sources

There are many sites online that host e-books for public access. Here are a few that may be useful:

The Pioneer Library System offers e-books and other electronic materials through Overdriveor Libby.

E-Books by Subject

E-book Collections

Multi-Disciplinary, Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
STEM

ACLS Humanities

The American Council of Learned Societies Humanities Ebook Collection is a collection of over 5,700scholarly books, from over 125 publishers. This collection is curated by scholars for scholars; members of ACLS learned societies nominate books for inclusion.

File Types Available:

PDF

Cambridge Books Online

A growing collection of Cambridge science, social science, and humanities e-books. Most are from the 2000s to present.

File Types Available:

PDF

EBSCO

EBSCO’s collection of e-books cover books from a variety of academic disciplines including business and economics, computers, technology and engineering, humanities, life and physical science, and social and behavioral sciences. EBSCO E-BOOK Libguide

File Types Available:

EPUB
PDF

Gale/Cengage

E-books from a variety of academic disciplines including literature, business and economics, history, humanities and social sciences, language, mathematics, religious studies, political science, and fine arts.Representative titles include Contemporary Theatre, Film & Television; American Men & Women of Science; Business Plans Handbook; Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics & Philosophy; Acronyms, Initialisms & Abbreviations; Contemporary Authors; Writers Directory; Cities of the United States.

File Types Available:

PDF
HTML

Oxford Scholarship Online(OSO)

Provides centralized access to e-books from Oxford University Press in biology, philosophy, public health, law, religion, political science, social work, economics, finance, psychology, and sociology.

File Types Available:

PDF
HTML

ProQuest/Ebrary

ProQuest E-Book Central covers books from a variety of academic disciplines including business and economics, computers, technology and engineering, humanities, life and physical science, and social and behavioral sciences. ProQuest E-Book Central Libguide

File Types Available:

PDF

Taylor &Francis

Taylor &Francis offer access to humanities, social sciences, behavioral sciences, and STEM content from renowned imprints such as Routledge, Psychology Press, and Focal Press.

File Types Available:

PDF

Wiley

Titles in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

File Types Available:

PDF
HTML

ACS (American Chemical Society)

ACS e-books consist of the ACS Symposium Series and the Advances in Chemistry series.

File types available:

PDF
PDF w/Links
HTML

AMS (American Mathematical Society)

The AMS provides access toContemporary Mathematics, Proceedings of Symposia in Applied Mathematics, Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics, Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society, and more.

File Types Available:

PDF

CHEMnetBASE(Taylor& Francis)

CHEMnetBASE is a collection of ninecutting edge interactive chemistry databases and major reference works.

File Types Available:

PDF
Comma-separated text file (.csv)
Microsoft Excel formatted text (.xls)
Microsoft Excel unformatted text (.xls)
HTML file

Elsevier/Science Direct

Covers areas of biology, biomedicine, health, earth & planetary, environmental sciences,pharmaceutical and physical sciences, engineering,chemistry,finance, math,and psychology.

File Types Available:

PDF
VST
EPUB
Mobi

ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers)

ICE books include multi-author reference works, state-of-the-art reports, technical books, conference proceedings, and contract documents.

File Types Available:

PDF
EPUB

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

IEEE spans numerous content areas, including bioengineering, power and energy, and communication technologies, among other growing areas of research.

File Types Available:

PDF

IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology)

Provides access to ebooks on electrical engineering, radar equipment, signal processing, electromagnetics, control and power systems, and more.

File Types Available:

PDF

Knovel Library

Provides reference books, data sets, and information in the fields of chemistry, the life sciences, materials science, and engineering.

File Types Available:

PDF

RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry)

RSC titles in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, materials science, and related fields. Books may be searched by keywordor browsed by title, series, subject, book collection, or copyright year.) Individual chapters may be downloaded as PDF files.

File Types Available:

PDF
HTML
EPUB

Springer

Springer e-books cover subjects in the sciences and social sciences, most from 2007 to date, with earlier coverage for some series.

Includes access toSynthesis Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science, an information service for the research, development, and educational community in engineering and computer science. Includes self-contained electronic documents/lectures, which are organized into a hierarchical structure of disciplines and series. Each is authored by a prominent contributor to the field.

File Types Available:

PDF
HTML

Download, Printing, and Copying Permissions by E-Book Collection

Popular E-Book Collections at OU

ACLS Humanities E-Books
Cambridge E-Books
De Gruyter E-Books
EBSCO E-Books
Gale E-Books
JSTOR E-Books
MIT E-Books
Open Library E-Books
Oxford E-Books
Project Muse E-Books
ProQuest E-Book Central
Sage E-Books
ScienceDirect/Elsevier E-Books
SPIE E-Books
Springer E-Books
Wiley E-Books

ACLS e-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

Cambridgee-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

De Gruyter e-booksare:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

EBSCO E-Books

User Limit:There are fourlevels of access: unlimited concurrent user access, single user at a time,three users at a time, and non-linear.Theaccess level is marked under public note in the full book catalog record page. The access limit can also be identified underAvailabilitybelow the book title on the e-book landing page on the EBSCO platform.Below are some examples:

1-user access model title "Limited User Access (1 Copies Available)"
2-7 user access model title "Limited User Access (XCopies Available)"
Concurrent Access model title "Unlimited User Access"
Unlimited-user access model title "Unlimited User Access"

* Concurrent Access Model:Under this model, titles are not restricted to linear distribution (one patron at a time) but rather they can be lent to any number of users concurrently. There are a set number of lending days per title per year, typically up to 325 days. Lending days reset annually. The number of days used for each loan is subtracted from the total number of annual loan days available for the title. For example, if four users each trigger a five day loan for the same title, 20 days are deducted from the title’s 325 loan days. The combined number of loan days cannot exceed the annual loan days in a year.

Copying/Downloading/Printing:Depending on publisher-specified limits, up to 100 pages of an EBSCO e-book can be printed, saved, or emailed as a PDF file (per user) from within the e-book viewer.Publisher permissions (including printing, copying, saving, and emailing pages)will be listed on each e-book page on the EBSCO platform.

Printing/Copying

The number of pages may vary depending on individual publisher-specified limits. Some titles may not allow for printing.
If you have reached your printing limit, the option to print or save e-book pages will be temporarily unavailable.

Downloading

Before downloading, users need to installAdobe Digital Editions(free online) on their computers.
To download full e-books, an EBSCOhost account is required.
Download/checkout duration and download format is chosen by the patron.

Returning Downloaded/Checked Out E-Books: E-books purchased under a limited user model will be unavailable for viewing or download if in use. A“Sorry, this e-book is in use” message is displayed until the item is free.

E-books Viewed Online

E-books that are being viewed online can be “closed” and made available to other users, by clicking theResult List,New Search,Back, orExitlinks in the e-book viewer.

If an E-book is left “open” in a browser window but is no longer being used, then the e-book becomes available to other users after the last user’s EBSCOhostsession expires after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Downloaded E-books

Open Adobe Digital Editions on your computer.
On theLibrary Viewscreen of Adobe Digital Editions, hold your pointer over the e-book you would like tocheck in and click the arrow in the top left corner.
ClickReturn Borrowed Item.
Click theReturnbutton to confirm you would like to return the e-book.
The e-book is checked in and removed from your Library View screen and is available to other patrons

For more help, please view the EBSCOe-book guide.

Galee-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

JSTOR e-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

MIT e-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

Open Library is free and open to anyone. It provides access to books that are both copyright protected and in the public domain. Some features do require an Open Library account.To create an account click the "sign up" link at the top right hand corner of thehome page.

Reading and Checking Out E-Books

Books that are freely available for reading or download will have a "read" icon located next to them. When this tab is clicked, the book will automatically open in the browser using the Open Library Book Reader.
Books that have a "borrow" closed book next to them can be borrowed for up to two weeks by registeredusers.
Visit Open LibrariesBorrowing FAQfor more help and instructional videos.

Oxforde-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

Project Muse e-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

ProQuest E-Books

User Limit:There are fourlevels of access: unlimited concurrent user access, single user at a time,three users at a time, and non-linear.Theaccess level is marked under public note in the full book catalog record page. For items that we have not yet purchased (DDA titles), there is no access level listed on the full book record page.A book's userlimit can also be identified underAvailabilitybelow the book title on the e-book landing pageon the ProQuest E-Book Central platform.Below are examples:

1-user access model title "Your institution has access to 1 copy of this book"
3-user access model title "Your institution has access to 3 copies of this book"
Non-linear access model title "Your institution has access to multiple copies of this book"
Unlimited-user access model title "Your institution has unlimited access to this book"

* Non-Linear Access Model:Under this model, titles are not restricted to linear distribution (one patron at a time)but rather they can be lent to any number of users concurrently. There are a set number of lending days per title per year, typically up to 325 days. Lending days reset annually. The number of days used for each loan is subtracted from the total number of annual loan days available for the title. For example, if four users each trigger a five day loan for the same title, 20 days are deducted from the title’s 325 loan days. The combined number of loan days cannot exceed the annual loan days in a year.

Copy/Downloading/Printing:User account is required. Limits are shownon each e-book's landing page on the ProQuest platform.These limits reset after 24 hours.Some publishers have set different copy/print/download limitsthan the defaults listed here and some books do not allow users to copy, print, or downloadat all.For a user signed in to an ProQuest E-Book Central account, thedefaultlimitswithin ProQuest E-Book Central are:

Copying

Number of pages from which text can becopied=20%of a book's total pages
Multiple selections copied from the same page count as just one copy.
Example: for a 200-page book, you can copy text from up to 40 pages every 24 hours.

Downloading/Printing

Chapters in PDF, a range of pages, and the whole book can be downloaded.
Before downloading, users need to installAdobe Digital Editions(free online) on their computers.
Number of pages that can beprintedorpage/chapter-downloaded=40%of a book's total pages
Both "Print to PDF" and "Chapter Download" deduct against the same total.
Example: for a 200-page book, you can print or page/chapter-download up to 80 pages every 24 hours.

Checking Out/Downloading Entire E-Books:The number of days an e-book can be checked out varies and depends on the book and the user limit on the book. Some publishers do not allow full e-book downloads.

single user e-books: available for 1day checkout
three user e-books: available for1,2,3,4 day checkout
unlimited, non-linear, and subscription user e-books: available for a variety of checkout days. Patrons can chooseat the point of check out.

Returning E-Books:Downloaded and loaned e-books expire automatically at the end of a loan, andcannot be returned early.Deleting the e-book file from Adobe Digital Editions deletes the e-book file from your device, but does not end the loan.

Downloaded and loaned e-books appear in your E-book Central Bookshelf, in the “Downloads and Loans” folder, for the duration of the loan or download period. The exact date and time the loan expires will be displayed in orange.

A session will timeout automatically if left idle for 15 minutes.

For more help, please view theProQuest E-Book CentralQuick Guide.

Sage e-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF

Science Direct/Elseviere-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

SPIEe-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

Springer e-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

Taylor & Francise-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

Wileye-books are:

Unlimited user
DRM free
Downloadable by chapter PDF
Downloadable as an entire e-book PDF

EBA and DDA Overview

DDA

How DDA Works

OU Libraries purchases somee-books through a Demand Driven Acquisitions (DDA) plan. We purchaseDDA e-books from ProQuest and JSTOR.As books that match our DDA approval planbecome available in e-book form, records are added to our catalog. When patrons find these books in the catalog, they click on the link and are taken seamlessly to the e-book.

The key benefit of this program is that we are notcharged for books until they are actually used, thus enabling us to make more books available than if we had to purchase them all up front whether or not they are used.

ProQuest DDAs:Each title isallowed three short term loans. Short term loans are created by one of the trigger events listed below. We are charged a percentage of the book price for each short term loan and on the fourth STL we automatically purchase the e-book. All ProQuest e-books are single user e-books once fully purchased on the fourth use (ProQuest e-books purchased by other means may have differentuser limits).

Trigger events for ProQuest DDAs:

Viewing of thebook for more than 5 minutes(by an individual patron)
Copy
Print
Download a page-range or chapter
Full-download

JSTOR DDAs:Each title isallowed seven free uses. Uses are created by one of the trigger events listed below. On the eighth use we automatically purchase the e-book.All JSTOR e-books are unlimited user once fully purchased on the eighthuse.

Trigger events for JSTOR DDAs:

a chapter view for any length of time
a chapter download
use of front and back matter of a book does not count

EBA

How EBA Works

Evidence Based Acquisition (EBA) allows the library to make data driven purchase decisions,building collections that are based on user need and preference.EBA allows unlimited access to largemulti-disciplinarye-bookcollections at a low cost per title over a period of time (typically a year) with an upfront access cost. At the end of the program periodthe library can select and perpetually purchase titles from the collection based on usage data. The upfront access cost paid at the beginning of the program is applied toward the acquired titles.

EBA Programs We Participate In

JSTOR:Access to more than 63,000 backlist titles from more than 95 publishers. Titles in this programappear in the catalog as"JSTOR eBooks EBA."
Project Muse:Access to more than 66,000 frontlist and backlist titles from more than 200 publishers. Titles in this program appear in the catalog as "Project Muse EBA."
Taylor & Francis/Routledge:Access to more than 2,700 Routledge 2022 and 2021 titles in the subjects of Architecture, Sociology, Social Work, Anthropology, Art, Education, Music, Journalism, and Dance. Titles in this program appear in the catalog as"Routledge EBA."

User Limit:All e-books in our EBA programs are unlimited simultaneous user.

Title List Stability

JSTOR and Project Muse:Throughout the program the vendor may addnew titlesand some titles may be removed atthe request of the publishers. TheJSTOR title listis accessible online.
Taylor & Francis:EBA program is for a set list of titles and will not change.
If an EBA program is not renewed, access is lost for any title we do not choose for perpetual access.

E-Books on Mobile Devices and Kindles

What Can I Read With My Device?

With a wifi-enabled device, you should have no trouble reading most of our e-books online, as well as saved or downloaded PDFs.
You can also useCalibreto convert PDFs to EPUBs for more user-friendly reading on your device.
To see a more complete comparison of which devices can use which file formats view thisComparison of Supported Filesdocument.
To see a list of which file types support what activities view thisComparison of E-book File Typesdocument.

Can I read eBooks on a Kindle?

Some eBooks can be read on a Kindle -the answer varies from vendor to vendor, publisher to publisher, and sometimes book to book.Please see more informationviaProQuest,EBSCO, andAmazon.

Accessibility of E-Books

Accessibility Features

Accessibility features vary between e-book vendors. E-book platforms may have different built inaccessibility features. They may allow you to createa high contrast mode/dark mode or change thebackground color, or the resource may be adapted for use with screen reading or read aloud software. Gale e-books, for example, have built in features that allow a user to change the font size, word spacing, and background color. They also have built in features that will translate the text or read it aloud for a reader.

AbilityNet is a website that provides step by step instructions on how to adapt aphone, computer, or tablet to meet a user'sneeds. Users canfilter queries based on operating system and device.Userscan also search for a specific need (e.g. making text larger) or filter the guides based on symptoms (e.g. hand pain) or condition (e.g. dyslexia).