The Electronic Legal Deposit (eLD) book does not have page numbers. How do I quote from it or reference a specific section?

Many books available through eLD are in the EPUB format and do not therefore have page numbers.

To reference a specific section, you should refer to the chapter number or the heading of the specific section, followed by the paragraph number. You will need to count the paragraphs from the beginning of the chapter/section in question.

Note: some books which open in Adobe Digital Editions have page numbers which do not initially appear but can be displayed through clicking the ‘Reading’ menu in the toolbar then ‘Show page numbers’.

Do I need to include a URL or information about the format of the eLD book in my bibliography?

Whether you need to include information about the format and a URL will depend on your referencing style. Most referencing style guides now offer information about citing eBooks. If you are using a style which does require you to list the format/platform, we suggest referring to the eLD book as a ‘Restricted Access eBook’. If your referencing style additionally requires you to include a URL, we recommend using https://cam.ldls.org.uk. Readers who are not using a special eLD terminal will be redirected to information about Electronic Legal Deposit access and a list of available terminals.

In-text citation:

Here an example of in-text citation in the Harvard style:

Parker (2022, “Hero of the English”, para. 1) draws attention to the wider context of the various uprisings that...

Note that you will need to count the paragraph numbers from the beginning of the relevant chapter yourself.

Unlike standard eBooks, access to ELD eBooks is restricted to certain terminals. You may need to provide readers who may attempt to follow up your references with some indication of this via a format description in your reference list:

Parker, E. (2022) Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England. [Restricted Access eBook] . London: Bloomsbury Academic. Available at: https://cam.ldls.org.uk [Accessed 12 December 2022]

How I do I know if I'm looking at a PDF or EPUB title?

To find out which format you are dealing with on an eLD terminal, check the dark grey bar which appears along the top of the screen when viewing a book. On the far left you will see the file name of the book. EPUB files appear with the .epub extension.