Accessing and Using Ebooks

Marian University subscribes to several collections of E-books that are accessible through the catalog or by vendor from our Articles and Database page. This guide will demonstrate the navigation, layout and general features available within most ebook platforms. The main collections available to Marian University users are listed to the left.

Our E-Book collections are academic in nature. As such, accessing content in e-book format can be more cumbersome than content downloaded directly from commercial apps like the iPad or Amazon Kindle. Select the provider page on the right for brief tutorials on ebook platform navigation. Users accessing liberal arts related content are encouraged to view the Proquest Ebook Central tutorials, as this comprises the collection with most ebooks as well as the greatest learning curve for navigating ebook platforms.

Academic ebook content typically cannot be downloaded in its entirety without creating an account with an e-reader service. Adobe Digital Editions (free) is usually the preferred choice of e-readers for academic ebooks. There are some exceptions, as the Springer and JSTOR providers do provide unlimited downloads ("DRM free") of their subscribed content without the use of an e-reader. Once downloaded to a personal device in the specified format, content will be removed automatically after the loan period, usually twenty-one days.

If viewed on a desktop workstation, there is no limit to the Ebook Central or Ebsco content that can be accessed within a particular e-book. For Ebsco eBooks, sessions inactive after 30 minutes will reset and the item will then be accessible to others. For Ebook Central titles, multiple users can access a particular title concurrently while only one user can access a title at a time from the Ebsco platform.

Additionally, restrictions apply for the amount of printing or emailing that is allowable in any one session, which is either sixty pages or one chapter, whichever is shorter.

When viewing the tutorials, users can either click the full-screen option or the "Watch in Panopto" for an expanded view of content.