FAQ's
What do you need installed to view our E Books?
On a PC you need Adobe Digital Editions. This is installed on all ITS PC's on campus. When opening an E Book in Digital Editions it will prompt you for your Adobe ID but you can bypass this by ticking the little box to say proceed without.
On a mobile device you need to install the BlueFire App (also Adobe) which is free.
What is DRM?
DRM stands for "Digital Rights Management". These are controls/limitations/restrictions that a publisher has placed against a particular title. In theory these controls could be used to limit the number of times an eBook can be read, how many pages can be printed, and what devices and/or software systems are able to read it etc etc.. In reality, most publishers have chosen a fairly loose set of controls that amongst other things restrict the number of times that the eBook can be downloaded and a limitation on how much of the book can be printed off. The download limits, and for that matter the restrictions applied within each books' DRM is set by the publisher concerned.
What devices are our E Books compatible with?
Our E Books are compatible with most tablets and smartphones, Sony Ereader, Kobo, Samsung E60 etc. but not the Kindle (apart from Palgrave ones!)
What are the E Book Formats?
ePub format
ePub is the most widely used E Book format thanks to its compatibility with a wide range of devices including handheld e-readers and desktop computers. Where some other formats have 'fixed’ text, the text in ePub books is reflowable, meaning it will optimize depending on the size of the display.
Adobe PDF format:
Adobe PDF is another of the most widely used E Book formats. Just like ePub books, PDF E Books can be read on a wide range of devices and they can also use the Adobe DRM system. Where they differ is in the formatting of text - many older PDF files are not 'reflowable’ as ePub files are, so you may struggle to read them on smaller devices. Newer PDF E Books shouldn’t have this problem though.
How do I reference E Books?
The Library produces a guide to citing references for all kinds of information resources, including ebooks.
What do I do if an E Book doesn’t work, or if I can’t access it?
If you're having difficulties accessing an E Book, please use our Contact Us pages
Can library users without a University login access E Books?
Some electronic resources are available for use in the library only. For a list of the resources, see our Visitor Access Service.
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