Accessing e-books requires an internet connection and requires you to sign-in with your BCU ID. You can read e-books in a web browser and in some cases you can download e-books chapters or the full book for a limited time.
This page gives you an overview of three online e-book readers and instructions to download e-books to read offline.
Online e-book readers
Online readers are quite straight forward to use: click on the Read link and the PDF or ePub opens in your web browser.
Each e-book provider has its own reader interface but you can expect most readers to provide these functionalities:
- Adjust the zoom level
- Save bookmarks
- Add annotations
- Download chapters or the full volume (depends on the license).
- Copy/paste outside of the reader (the limit depends on the license).
Watch these video guides to familiarise yourself with the main e-book readers available at BCU: Ebook Central, EBSCOhost and VLebooks.
For reference, please consult the manuals and accessibility statements linked under each video.
eBook Central can be viewed on all major browsers including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari. Here is a short video about using eBook Central's features:
EBSCOhost lets you view an e-book online in either EPUB or PDF formats in all major browsers.
The key advantage of the PDF version is that it will let you make notes whereas the EPUB one will not.
However the EPUB version will resize to fit your screen so choose this format if you are viewing via your tablet/smartphone.
Here is a short video to show you how to view an e-book with the EBSCOhost online reader:
VLeBooks can be read online via all major browsers. The option to read online appears beneath the book cover image on the title page after you have clicked the e-book link in the Library Catalogue. Here is a short video to show you how to consult an e-book with VLe:
Downloading e-books to read offline
In order to open 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 HelpEBSCOhost User GuideVLeBooks 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.