eBooks

• Cambridge Core Books publishes a wide range of research monographs, academic reference, textbooks, books for professionals, and large numbers of books aimed at graduate students. There are thousands of ebooks available across a wide range of disciplines in Humanities and Social Sciences
• Oxford Scholarship Online is a vast and rapidly expanding cross-searchable library which offers quick and easy access to the full text of Oxford University Press ebooks in disciplines such as Business and management; Economics and finance; Law; Philosophy; Political science; Public health and epidemiology.
• JSTOR is a digital library of thousands of academic journals, books, and primary sources from a wide range academic disciplines, including core areas such as business & economics, social sciences, education, history, language & literature and science. Current journals are linked and cross-searchable with archival journals and ebooks on JSTOR.
• Taylor & Francis Ebooks - Provides DRM-free e-book access for students and researchers working in the humanities, social and behavioural sciences, education, built environment, and law.

• JSTOR  is a growing digital library covering academic disciplines, including business & economics, education, history, and language & literature and science. Current journals are linked and cross-searchable with archival journals and ebooks on .
• Oxford Scholarship Online is a vast and rapidly expanding cross-searchable library which offers quick and easy access to ebooks in Business and management; Economics and finance; Law; Philosophy; Political science; Public health and epidemiology.
• Cambridge Core Books publishes a wide range of research monographs, academic reference, textbooks, books for professionals, and graduate students. There are thousands of ebooks available across a wide range of disciplines including law, politics, history, language and literature, mathematics and astronomy
• Taylor & Francis Ebooks provides DRM-free e-book access for students and researchers working in the humanities, social and behavioural sciences, education, built environment, and law. .
• Peter Lang eBooks The Peter Lang Academic Publishing Group specializes in the humanities and social sciences, covering disciplines include acres the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
• ProQuest Ebook Central provides access to thousands of e-books from trusted publishers in all academic subject areas.
• SpringerLink Books contains journals, books, series, protocols and reference works all aimed at supporting the research and academic community across all disciplines.
• Wiley Online Library Books is a collection of online resources covering life, health, and physical sciences as well as social science and the humanities.
• eBook Collection (EBSCO) offers a selection of scholarly, frontlist and award-winning eBook titles from leading publishers. These titles cover a broad range of academic subject matter and topics.
• Project MUSE Book Collection offers peer-reviewed books from over 65 university presses and scholarly publishers. Over 550 humanities and social science books from several distinguished university presses are available as fully open access (OA).

• ProQuest Ebook Central provides access to thousands of e-books from trusted publishers in all academic subject areas.
• Cambridge Core Books publishes a wide range of research monographs, academic reference, textbooks, books for professionals, and graduate students. There are thousands of ebooks available across a wide range of disciplines including law, politics, history, language and literature, mathematics and astronomy with hundreds of new titles added each year
• Oxford Scholarship Online is a vast and rapidly expanding cross-searchable library which offers quick and easy access to the full text ebooks in disciplines such as Business and management; Economics and finance; Law; Philosophy; Political science; Public health and epidemiology.
• SpringerLink Books contains journals, books, series, protocols and reference works all aimed at supporting the research and academic community across all disciplines.

• ProQuest Ebook Central provides access to thousands of e-books from trusted publishers in all academic subject areas.

• SpringerLink Books contains journals, books, series, protocols and reference works all aimed at supporting the research and academic community across all disciplines.

• ClinicalKey (Elsevier) is a database designed specifically to address physicians’ key search requirements and deliver answers that are more relevant than those provided by conventional clinical search engines. The database also has more than 20 million MEDLINE abstracts, which are updated daily.
• Books@Ovid - Over 200 scientific and medical ebooks. Subjects covered include behavioural & social sciences, clinical medicine, health professions, life & biomedical sciences, nursing, patient education, pharmacology and chemistry.
• McGraw-Hill eBook Library - contains a range of titles published by McGraw-Hill Education. The Library has access to selected Medical collections only.

• SpringerLink Books

  SpringerLink contains journals, books, series, protocols and reference works all aimed at supporting the research and academic community across all disciplines. The Palgrave Connect ebook collections were integrated into the Springer eBook collections during 2016.

• SpringerReference offers living editions of Springer's eReferences well in advance of their print editions. This collection covers a broad range of subjects including Biomedical and life sciences, Chemistry and material science, Computer science, Earth and environmental science, Engineering, and Mathematics and statistics.
• Knovel

  Knovel offers an unmatched depth and breadth of validated engineering content, selected from the most trusted sources and delivered to engineers quickly and with extreme precision. Knovel's comprehensive content collection includes material properties, process and design information, best practices, equations and formulations for specific industries and engineering disciplines. Knovel’s content includes over 4,000 leading reference works and databases from more than 100 leading technical publishers and professional societies including AIAA, AIChE, ASHRAE, ASM, ASME, DIPPR and NACE.

• AccessEngineering (McGraw Hill) is an engineering reference tool for professionals, academics, and students which provides access to critical, regularly updated engineering reference information.
• CAB eBooks

  CAB eBooks provides a unique opportunity to access CABI’s prestigious titles in an easy-to-use format. Books are indexed and retrievable as chapters, ensuring that a search of available titles will render the most relevant results. CABI publish ebooks in Agriculture, Animal and veterinary sciences, Environmental sciences, Human health food and nutrition, Leisure and tourism, and Plant sciences.

• Safari Books Online (ProQuest)  

  O'Reilly Safari Books Online features a curated library of over 30,000 technical books - including titles from Pearson, O’Reilly Media, and more - organized by the most popular subjects, from web development and mobile apps to entrepreneurship and UX/IA. The database also contains over 4,000 videos, as well as interactive tutorials, case studies, learning paths and audio books.

• IEEE-Wiley eBooks Library - a partnership between IEEE and Wiley & Sons, Inc. - includes practical handbooks, introductory and advanced texts, reference works, and professional books with an emphasis on leading areas of research.

• CAB eBooks: Ebooks covering literature in the fields of animal health, agriculture, human health and nutrition, and management and conservation of natural resources.
• EBL contains popular, professional and academic ebooks from the world's leading publishers.
• Books@OVID: provides access to electronic books available on the Ovid database search platform.
• Wiley Online Library Books: Link to subscribed ebooks and journals. Browse by publication or subject.
• ScienceDirect Books: Browse by title or subject e.g. Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science to access subscribed ebooks.
• CSIRO Publishing eBooks: Topics covered include plant and animal sciences, farming, urban development and environmental management.
• SpringerLink Books contains journals, books, series, protocols and reference works all aimed at supporting the research and academic community across all disciplines. The Palgrave Connect ebook collections were integrated into the Springer eBook collections during 2016.
• Taylor & Francis Ebooks provides DRM-free e-book access to a selection of titles and chapters on equine, small animal and exotic animal medicine. Browse by subject and select Veterinary Medicine.

An eBook (short for electronic book) is a book-length publication in digital format. Ebooks can be read on computers, dedicated ebook readers, tablets, mobile phones and other mobile devices.

Ebooks come in a number of formats and file types, which display slightly differently. Some ebooks are pdf files that have been scanned from a paper text. These offer limited search options and do not easily resize to adapt to different device screens.

Some eBook providers require you to check-out or borrow eBooks and use particular software, such as Adobe Digital Editions, to read their eBooks. However you will be prompted to do this when you try to access an eBook with special requirements and instructions will be provided.

Other ebooks are taking full advantage of the digital environment. They can resize, remember your place in a book, hold notes and bookmarks, allow searches and have in-text links to supporting material.

Most of the eBooks provided by the library can simply be read online using a web browser and/or downloaded, by section, chapter or whole book, in PDF format.

To access, download and read most eBooks from the library you simply need:

• A unimelb login and password.
• A device, such as a PC, laptop or tablet, with access to the Internet,
• An up-to-date web browser (find the latest versions of common browsers here), and
• A PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader.

Some eBook providers require you to check-out or borrow eBooks and use particular software, such as Adobe Digital Editions, to read their eBooks. However you will be prompted to do this when you try to access an eBook with special requirements and instructions will be provided.

When viewing an eBook on any PC, laptop, or mobile device (e.g. eReader or smartphone) it is essential that the device can support both the software and format requirements of the eBook in question.  For example, a Kindle cannot view PDF file eBooks because of the proprietary format under which it operates.  By contrast, the Sony eReader can process PDF format eBooks.    

It will depend on the device itself, as well as Digital Rights Management issues, which is a way for publishers to control who can read purchased eBooks, and to restrict what can be done with them.  At the moment, downloaded EBL ebooks can be transferred to any portable device that supports Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). There's a list of these compatible devices on the ADE website. Portable devices with browser support (such as the iPhone/iPad) can also access EBL and Read Online via the web. 

Most of the eBooks provided by the library can simply be read online using a web browser and/or downloaded, by section, chapter or whole book, in PDF format.

The same copyright rules apply to eBooks as their print versions, so the 10% rule is a rough guide.  However, most eBook publishers provide guidance for the amount you can copy or print from an eBook (usually within the eBook you are reading).  For example, clicking print in an EBL book will show you how many pages you have printed and display the total number of pages you are permitted to print.

Please note that Hawthorn students, general and alumni library members do not have access to eBooks, even from public access PCs.

To read eBooks from the University library catalogue or eBook databases, you do not need an eReader device.  You simply require a PC or laptop that supports eBook software (e.g. Adobe Digital Editions), so it is possible to download eBooks. In most cases, when you choose to read an eBook online this is browser supported and does not require additional software.

Generally, eBooks from the library do not require any specific software other than Adobe Digital Editions, which is necessary for downloading EBL eBooks.

Refer to the Reading & Downloading eBooks page for a step-by-step guide to downloading Adobe Digital Editions.

Most eBooks provided by the library do not need to be 'borrowed', however some eBooks provided in databases such as 'EBL - Ebook Library' have fixed loan periods and after the loan period expires the eBook will automatically be deleted from your computer or device.

To access an eBook again, just return to the library catalogue record for the eBook, and repeat the download process.

There is no known limit to the number of eBooks that you can download or access from the library catalogue or eBook databases (at one time).

You can read an ebook while online (in your browser), print out part of the text (usually a chapter) and sometimes save a file to your computer of device. The publisher's page will tell you how you can access the files.

eBooks are provided to the University for use by staff and students. You should only ever access ebooks for your own personal study requirements, and not copy or share these files.

Most major eBook platforms comply with web accessibility guidelines.  For more information about eBook accessible formats, please visit the relevant eBook provider below:

• JSTOR
• Oxford Scholarship Online
• Cambridge Core Books

Digital rights management (DRM) is a term used to describe the technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers and copyright holders in order to limit the use of digital content.

When it comes to eBooks, DRM determines how many users can access content and what can be done with it. DRM sets the terms for how many users can access content, whether it can be downloaded and if downloading is possible any expiration period. Content that can be downloaded and has an expiration date will be automatically wiped from a device once the expiration date has been reached. 

1. Install Adobe Digital Editions by visiting http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ and clicking 'download now' in the top right-hand side of the screen.
2. Click 'launch' to activate the Adobe Digital Editions installer.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts from the Setup Assistant wizard, and create a free Adobe ID account if you don't have one.
4. Use your  email address and set a password to login to Adobe Digital Editions (via the wizard or the member login page).
5. 'Activate' Adobe Digital Editions on your computer.
6. Click 'finish' to close the wizard.  You can also close the Adobe Digital Editions 'library' which has opened, as you only need this software to be loaded on your computer to download ebooks for the set period of 3 or 7 days.

Can't remember your Adobe ID or password? Follow the instructions here for Forgotten ID or Forgotten Password.

The library does not have access to all titles on any given platform. Sometimes, a subscription to a title will lapse if it hasn't been accessed in some time (but the University Library catalogue record remains). Contact the library to arrange access.

Please report any access problems or error messages by going to the eJournals and Databases page and selecting the 'Report A Problem' button on the right.

Try accessing the eBook via the University Library Catalogue to avoid hitting sign-in restrictions.

Alternatively, you can save the Lean Library browser extension which will use your University credentials to access material you have found from Google searches or other sources. 

Note: not all books on a publisher's platform are part of the University's subscription package. You can often restrict your search within the platform to only material that is available to you.

Check the system requirements for the type of file the publisher has supplied. Some eBooks have Digital Rights Management protections added and require special software to read the file.

Check the system requirements on the publisher's page, including any software that may be required to view their files. 

Some eBooks are better suited to particular screen sizes, e.g. some will not resize appropriately for a phone screen. Check the publisher's page.

eBooks are subject to access period restrictions, just like a physical library book. Files are available to read for a set period and will then be erased. You can re-download the text if you still need it. Any notes or highlights you have made in your personal account should still be there.

First, try searching within the Library Catalogue. This should direct you straight to the correct title within the publisher's platform. 

If searching within a platform:

• check that you are looking on the correct publisher's page, it may be on a different eBook platform
• check that an ebook version exists (not just print)
• use advanced search features or tools available on that site. You should find more information on a help page.

Some publishers offer this service, check the help page on the eBook you’re interested in. You may require a Kindle account to do this with some publisher's books.