On this page you find instructions to access e-books as a BCU member, an overview of features and limitations in e-books and what you need to download e-books for offline reading.
BCU Members Access
Viewing e-books requires an internet connection and your BCU ID. Follow these steps to access e-books using Library Search.
1- Check availability
Many e-books require a subscription to access. If the book is free or the library has a subscription, the e-book appears "Available Online" in Library Search.
2- Find the View Online link
Click the Available Online link to reveal the View Online options.
The links under the View Online section take you to the publisher's website where you can view or download the e-book.
If you haven't already, Library Search will ask you to sign-in with your BCU ID. Some publishers display the BCU logo to indicate sign-in was successful.
3- Choose a viewing option
In the screenshot below, the e-book is available to read online and the download option is not available.
Clicking Read Online opens the e-reader in the web browser.
You should expect different options depending on the book and the publisher.
E-books features and limitations
Online e-book readers are quite straight forward to use: click on the Read link and the PDF or ePub opens in your web browser. The functionalities and accessibility features offered in the e-reader depend on the provider and may vary for each title.
Allowances and availability
The ability to copy/paste, download or print e-books usually depend on licensing agreements for a given title.
Look for the allowances and availability on the e-book's summary page.
For instance, the e-book on this screenshot:
- can be read online
- allows multiple persons to download for offline viewing (e-loan)
- allows to print or copy up to 10% of its content.
Annotations and bookmarks
Some e-readers allow you to mark pages, highlight text or write notes. These features usually appear when you are registered or signed-in with your BCU account. To learn more, look for the help section in the e-reader's menus, usually a question mark or info icon.
Accessibility features
The accessibility features and support can vary depending on the e-book provider. Here are links to the accessibility statements of the most common e-book providers used at BCU:
Downloading e-books to read offline (e-loan)
Some e-books have a download option so you can read them when your device is offline. The download option availability depends on the licensing agreement, the number of copies available and may not be available for all e-books.
In order to open Digital Rights Management (DRM) protected e-book files (PDF, ePub) you will need to install Adobe Digital Editions or an Adobe DRM compatible e-book reader app.
Installing Adobe Digital Editions
Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) is available for Mac, Windows, iOS or Android devices.
Note that Adobe requires to create an Adobe ID to download DRM-protected PDFs.
For help about downloading e-books, follow the instructions for their respective providers linked below:
Ebook Central HelpVLeBooks FAQs
If you are using a BCU owned PC, laptop or device and need help installing Adobe Digital Editions, please contact IT Support.
Other DRM-compatible e-book readers
If Adobe Digital Editions does not suit your needs, you can use another compatible e-reader.
Adobe maintains a list of e-reader devices and apps compatible with their DRM. These apps or devices may not be free and may offer different features and accessibility support than ADE.