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E-books

An introduction to how to find E-books in the library

AU Library Search for Ebooks

Questions?

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Stacey Marien
Contact:

smarien@american.edu
Subjects: EBooks

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Text: (571) 248-7542

Things to Keep in Mind about ebooks

  • Not every print book in our collection is available as an ebook.
  • If you would like to order an ebook that we currently do not own, please fill out the request form here
  • Most library ebook collections are presented in formats that are intended for viewing in a browser on a computer. See the Downloading ebooks tab for more information about printing, copying text, and downloading. 
  • The ebook collections that the library subscribes to tend to be scholarly books rather than popular books. 
  • Many of the ebooks and ebook collections that we subscribe to have restrictions on accessibility and use. These restrictions are often created by the owner of the content whether it be a publisher, author, or another party who maintains rights over the digital product. The conditions often determine who can access the ebook, how it can be accessed or used, or if it can be downloaded or printed. The following article provides a good overview of Digital Rights Management.

General Information about ebooks at American University

 

American University Library subscribes to a number of ebook collections. Remote access to most of the resources in this guide is restricted to AU students, faculty, and staff with current, valid AU IDs.

If you are looking for a particular ebook, search the WRLC Catalog by title or author to see if we have access to it. If you are looking to browse or search for ebooks on a particular topic, take a look at some of the general or subject-specific ebook collections that we have available.

 

Am I able to use my e-reader?

This is the most common question that the reference librarians receive.  

It is not a simple answer.  

It depends on the publisher of the ebook and the type of e-reader you may have.

The best advice is to check the help manual of your e-reader as well as the help pages of the publisher platform.

Most American University Library ebooks do not work using proprietary devices, such as Kindle and NOOK, but will work on most tablets.