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E-Books at UNT

A brief guide on using e-books and their platforms.

Access

When you find an e-book in the catalog, you will see one of three access terms: Single User Access, Multiple User Access, and Unlimited User Access.

  • Single User Access = the book can be used by one person at a time
  • Multiple User Access = the book can be used by more than one person at a time, but there is a limit to the number of simultaneous users
  • Unlimited User Access = the book can be used by any number of persons at the same time

If you cannot access an e-book that is Single or Multiple User Access, it means that the book is already in use by the maximum number of users and is not available. Wait 12 hours and try again.

E-books can have many different types of licenses, so in some cases downloading an e-book to a personal device may not be allowed, although reading it online (in a browser) is usually an option.* In some cases, you may only have 5-minutes to browse the book before having to request access, and there may be a delay before a librarian can approve your request. 

Similar restrictions, and often even more limiting ones, are common for printing pages and after closing your browser.

*If you encounter an e-book that is not available for online reading or that is not performing as expected, please go to the Library Services Desk in Willis Library, send an e-mail to AskUs@unt.edu or visit https://library.unt.edu/ask-us to report the problem. The library relies on customers to report problems so that the staff can fix them.

Adobe Digital Editions

What is Adobe Digital Editions?

In order to download full titles to your laptop, computer or handheld device, you will need to create a free Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) account by simply going to adobe.com, and providing a username and password of your choice.

With ADE, you may download up to 10 titles at a time and have off-line access to your downloaded titles for up to 14 days. You may return a full title download early and within your ADE account you may also do the following:

  • Take notes
  • Show facing pages
  • Print
  • Transfer titles to handheld devices
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This guide will help you learn how to use e-books at the UNT Libraries. The UNT Libraries has many e-book titles to choose from. Accessing e-books from the library can be different than accessing them from retailers. On this guide you will find useful terms and tips to help you understand library e-books, troubleshooting your access, and tutorials.

UNT has two main e-book platforms: EBSCOhost and ProQuest Ebook Central (although there are others).

            

Finding E-Books

E-books can be found through the UNT Catalog.

  1. First click on the "Books & More" tab.
  2. Write your search terms into the field box and click search. Image of UNT Library Homepage with the Books & More tab selected and the search Edgar Allan Poe entered into the search field.
  3. Using the "Limit your search" option on the left, select "online" under "access" and "books" under the "resource type."                                                                                             Limit your search options with the "online" and "books" options selected.
  4. The search results will update to online books with the most relevant items listed first.Image of search results for 'Edgar Allan Poe" terms and limiters "Access>Online" and "Resource Type>Books" selected.
  5. Click on the title of the book to look at the record or "find it online" button to access it on its ebook platform. 

 

Understanding catalog buttons and icons

Online books will have a button that says "find it online" find it online buttonand an e-book icon ebook iconunder the title and author information. 


Understanding records

All item titles are hyperlinked to a record of the item. One these records, there are six ways to tell if the item is an ebook.

  1.  Resource Type will say "E-Book"
  2. Green bar with Find It button and "connect to online resource" hyper linked text.
  3. Location will say "UNT Online Resources"
  4. Call Number will say "Online recourse," 'E-Book" or a sting on letters and number that end in "eb"
  5. Availability will say "linked above"
  6. Notes will say "Single User Access," "Multi-User Access," or "Unlimited User Access"

Image of record for "Edgar Allen Poe: beyond gothicism."


 

Accessing an EBook

  1. Look for the "Find It Online" Button. 
  2. Once you click "Find It Online," you will be redirected to the e-book within the book's platform page. You can then read it online or check out the book by downloading it. This example shows an e-book that has been made available by the platform ProQuest Ebook Central.

ProQuest EBook Central record for Edgar Allan Poe: Beyond Gothicism.

E-book Platforms

You can find help for using an e-book in the following platforms:

Additional help can be found at the platform help pages.

 

Additional Links

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