Ebook functionality varies from supplier to supplier. As well as full-text searching and reading online, most platforms offer the ability to download some or all of the book to a variety of mobile devices (including in some cases Kindles). A few offer extra features such as text highlighting or annotating.
Many of us are having to read online more than ever, and this is undoubtedly a different experience to reading print materials. For some advice on making the experience easier please have a look at the Reading On Screen Study Skills LibGuide.
Where possible, Cambridge University Libraries provide access to ebooks which allow a large or unlimited number of users to access the book at the same time. (We go further than this and aim to buy DRM-free ebooks when we can - see DRM (Digital Rights Management) explainer further down this page).
Sometimes however, for reasons of cost or availability, we have to provide access to ebooks which cap the number of simultaneous users. Here's an example in iDiscover of an ebook capped at three concurrent users:
At times of high demand, this cap can lead to waiting lists. Certain kinds of usage, for example downloading for offline reading, can cause bottlenecks in the queue.
In order to keep the queue moving and facilitate access for all, please be considerate when using ebooks that are restricted in this way. For example:
This box highlights functionality for some of the most-used and quirky ebook platforms. Contact the ebooks team if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | IP recognition on campus. Requires Raven details off-campus. |
| Coverage | All Cambridge University Press published (and open access) ebooks and selected ebooks from partner presses such as Liverpool University Press, Edinburgh University Press and Boydell & Brewer. |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? | No. As with all electronic resources though, you should observe copyright regulations. |
| Simultaneous user access? |
No limit.
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| Formats available | All content is offered in pdf format with some also in HTML. |
| Do I need to create an account? | Only if you wish to save searches and bookmark favourite content. Click 'Register'. |
| Downloading | Yes. Chapters or entire ebooks can be downloaded to pdf or sent to Kindle. |
| Accessibility | Read the accessibility statement for Cambridge Core. |
| Known issues |
In both cases, please contact us for help.
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This box highlights functionality for some of our most-used and quirky platforms. Contact us if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | IP recognition on campus. Requires Raven details off-campus. Raven is also required for printing, copying and downloading on-campus. |
| Coverage | Users should be able to access all titles visible on the platform. |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? | Yes. Restricted printing and copying. Download maximum varies from 3 to 21 days, depending on publisher. |
| Simultaneous user access? | Depends on title. Some ebooks are restricted to a maximum of 3 or 1 concurrent users. When the limit is reached, you will see a message 'Your institution has access to x copies of this book. All copies are currently in use. Please check back later, or search for another book.' |
| Formats available | Read online (desktops, tablets and laptops only, NOT phones). PDF for chapter downloads and EPub for whole book downloads (whole book downloads available on phones). |
| Downloading |
Yes. Book sections can be downloaded as pdfs and kept indefinitely (requires Raven). Some titles offer a full download to EPub of between 3 and 21 days. Please note that for ebooks capped at a maximum number of simultaneous users (e.g. 3-user access), downloading for offline reading can cause bottlenecks at times of high demand. Please avoid downloading the entire book if possible, or select the minimum time period you can manage with to facilitate access for all. EPub requires Adobe Digital Editions. To download to iOS or Android devices you will also need Bluefire Reader and an Adobe ID. |
| Accessibility | Ebook Central is designed for patrons with accessibility needs, particularly the blind and visually impaired. The platform has an accessibility mode which users can switch on themselves. For further information see this LibGuide from Ebook Central. |
| Known issues |
Raven details are not normally needed to read an Ebook Central ebook on-campus. However, some titles will request Raven authentication the first time they are used. Users without Raven passwords should contact engcc@lib.cam.ac.uk for help in this circumstance. When using a phone you will need to download the ebooks. 'Read online' is limited to the Detail page, Sign in and Download buttons. |
This box highlights functionality for some of our most-used and quirky platforms. Contact us if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | IP recognition on campus. Requires Raven details off-campus. |
| Coverage | Users should be able to access all titles visible on the platform. |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? | Yes. Restricted printing, copying and saving. Download maximum 7 days. |
| Simultaneous user access? | Depends on title. Some ebooks are restricted to a maximum of 3 or 1 concurrent users. When the limit is reached, you will see a message 'Sorry this book is in use'. Please try again later (you might need to refresh the screen). |
| Formats available | PDF and EPub depending on publisher. |
| Do I need to create an account? | You will need to create an account to download ebooks for offline reading. Follow the prompts after clicking the download button. |
| Downloading |
Yes for most titles. Book sections can be saved as PDFs indefinitely. For some titles the whole book can be downloaded and read offline for up to 7 days using Adobe Digital Editions. An EBSCO eBooks app is available on the App Store® or Google Play™ for reading offline on Apple or Android devices (or use Bluefire Reader). Watch a short tutorial video on downloading EBSCOhost ebooks. Please note that for ebooks capped at a maximum number of simultaneous users (e.g. 3-user access), downloading for offline reading can cause bottlenecks at times of high demand. Please avoid downloading the entire book if possible, or select the minimum time period you can manage with to facilitate access for all. |
| Accessibility | Read the EBSCO eBook Accessibility User Guide and FAQs |
This box highlights functionality for some of our most-used and quirky platforms. Contact us if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | IP recognition on campus. Requires Raven details off-campus. |
| Coverage |
Only titles in: Archaeology, Biology, Business & Management, Classics, Computer Science, Economics, Education, History, Law, Linguistics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, and Sociology. Temporary access to titles in: Chemistry, Clinical Medicine & Allied Health, Earth Sciences & Geography, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Palliative Care, Physics, Public Health & Epidemiology and Social Work. Available titles show |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? | No. As with all electronic resources though, you should observe copyright regulations. |
| Simultaneous user access? | No limit. |
| Formats available | HTML and PDF |
| Do I need to create an account? | Only if you wish to save searches or titles that you have previously viewed. See 'Personal account' section on Oxford Academic for more details. |
| Downloading |
Individual chapters can be downloaded to PDF and kept indefinitely. Open the chapter via the Table of Contents and click 'PDF' under the chapter heading:
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| Accessibility | Read the Oxford Academic Accessibility Statement. |
This box highlights functionality for some of our most-used and quirky platforms. Contact us if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | IP recognition on campus. Requires Raven details off-campus. |
| Coverage | Selected book and protocol titles from Biomedicine, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Mathematics and Physics collections only. Unavailable content displays a locked padlock  . |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? | No. As with all electronic resources though, you should observe copyright regulations. |
| Simultaneous user access? | No limit. |
| Formats available | PDF and EPub. Some content also in HTML. |
| Downloading | Yes. Chapters and entire ebooks can be downloaded to PDF. Entire books can also be downloaded to EPub. Pdf requires Adobe Reader and EPub requires Adobe Digital Editions (or Bluefire Reader if using an iPhone/iPad or Android device). |
This box highlights functionality for some of our most-used and quirky platforms. Contact us if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | IP recognition on campus. Requires Raven details off-campus. |
| Coverage |
The entire Torrossa catalogue of ebooks is listed in iDiscover, but to activate full text access on the Torrossa platform users must click on the lightbulb icon above the sample page and submit a request. Once a request is approved the ebook is activated and is available for all subsequent users.
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| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? |
Yes. Torrossa is 'DRM-lite'. Entire books can be downloaded as PDF files which will expire after 14 days. There is no limit on the number of times you can download titles. Printing and copy/paste is not available. |
| Simultaneous user access? | No limit. |
| Formats available | All content is offered in PDF format (expiring after 14 days) |
| Downloading |
Yes. Ebooks download as PDF files which expire after 14 days. Downloading works much better if you download to Adobe Reader rather than your browser (if you open the PDF in your browser you will see a page of downloading instructions rather than the ebook itself). You may need to change your browser settings to do this: Firefox:
Chrome:
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| Important |
Until ebooks on this platform are activated by a user request, only a sample page is visible. If you wish to access an ebook, please click on "Suggest this title for purchase" under the lightbulb icon and provide your details. The Italian Specialist will then liaise with you directly. Once a title has been approved and activated the ebook is available for all users and the Download button will appear.
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This box highlights functionality for some of our most-used and quirky platforms. Contact us if you have any questions about these or any of our other 60+ ebook platforms.
| Access and authentication | Requires Raven login on and off-campus. |
| Coverage | Users should be able to access all titles visible on the platform. |
| Digital Rights Management (DRM)? | Yes. Restricted printing and copying. Download maximum varies from 1 to 5 days, depending on publisher. |
| Simultaneous user access? | Depends on title. Some ebooks are restricted to a maximum number of concurrent users (1, 3 or occasionally more). When the limit is reached, the platform will inform you. |
| Formats available | Read online (HTML) and EPUB. |
| Downloading |
Yes. Entire ebooks can be downloaded to EPUB, which requires Adobe Digital Editions (or Bluefire Reader or the VLeBooks app if using an iPhone/iPad or Android device). Please note that for ebooks capped at a maximum number of simultaneous users (e.g. 3-user access), downloading for offline reading can cause bottlenecks at times of high demand. Please use 'read online' if possible, or select the minimum time period you can manage with to facilitate access for all. |
| Accessibility | DRM-free PDF downloads are NOT available, but the platform itself has Accessibility Settings where you can e.g. set preferences for font and contrast, and the online reader offers options such as changing background colours and built-in Read Aloud. For further information see this VLeBooks Accessibility Statement. |
| Known issues |
Some iPad, iPhone and iMac users have been unable to access ebooks in VLeBooks' “Read Online” mode, as many iOS devices block pop-ups by default. You may need to enable pop-ups to access ebooks in “Read Online” mode. To enable pop-ups on your Safari browser (on iOS):
Please also ensure that you are using Safari 5 or a more recent version. To enable pop-ups on your Google Chrome browser (on iOS):
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Kindle devices are designed to use Amazon's own e-book formats: AZW and AZW3 (KF8). Kindles also support other file formats, including ePub and pdf (the file formats of most eBooks).
It is possible to transfer some pdfs and ePubs to Kindle either by connecting the computer or device displaying the pdf or ePub file via a cable, or by emailing the file as an attachment using Amazon's Send to Kindle service.
Cambridge Core has a handy 'Send to Kindle' button which guides you through this process, but any pdf or ePub can be transferred in this way.
Please note that many of the eBooks hosted on Ebook Central, EBSCOhost and VLeBooks are DRM-controlled and cannot be transferred to Kindle.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) schemes are access control technologies that restrict usage of copyrighted material, such as ebooks.
Ebook platforms often use DRM to restrict copying, printing and downloading. For example, VLeBooks limits the length of time that an ebook can be used offline and the number of pages that can be copied or printed.
Not all ebook platforms use DRM. DRM-free platforms (such as Cambridge Core, Taylor & Francis Online) impose no technical restrictions on the use of their content. However, users are obliged to observe copyright law as well as any licensing terms governing the use of a platform.
We recognise that DRM-free ebooks are more accessible for all of our users and we try to purchase these whenever they are available from suppliers.
Further ebooks information for Cambridge librarians can be found on the Cambridge Libraries Intranet.
