Downloading e-books

Downloading an e-book allows you to check it out and read it on your computer or portable device (smartphone, tablet, etc.) when you are not connected to the Internet, usually for a limited period of time.

You should think of a download like a traditional library loan that is available to you for a fixed period of time.

Most of our e-books can be downloaded to your computer/device.

On the e-book platforms, you will see a ’Download’ link that allows you to check-out and download an e-book and read it on your device when you are offline.

Restrictions

Various restrictions apply when you download e-books:

On many platforms, you must download Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) or an app identified by the supplier before you download your e-book.
Adobe Digital Editions is not available on student desktop computers. Many of these apps need to be authorised and this process generally requires you to have an Adobe ID.
If you are using a computer in one of the computer clusters, please do not download e-books. You should download your e-book to your own computer/device.
The print and copy functions will normally be disabled on downloads whereas they will be available for online use.
Once the download period expires, you will no longer have access to the downloaded e-book. You will need to download the e-book again, or read it online.
Restrictions as to the amount you can download and the length of time you can download for vary between e-book providers: some allow only a percentage of the text to be downloaded, others allow chapter downloads and some allow download of the whole text.

Platform-specific download instructions are available on the following help-pages.

DRM-Free e-books

Some e-books do not have Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions.

DRM-Free e-books do not require you to have an Adobe ID or special software (such as Adobe Digital Editions) installed in your device or PC to download them.