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London Metropolitan University
Library LibGuides
Skills Hub | Subject Guides | Library Search | E-Resources A-Z

Finding information

What are e-books?

E-books are electronic versions of books.  We have 1000s of e-books covering a wide range of subjects. E-books are great because you can access them from any internet connected device whenever and wherever you are!

Good to know:

📖 We buy e-books from different suppliers so the e-book websites might look different, depending on the e-book you have chosen.  Look out for an option to Read online or access the Full text to start reading.

📖 On very popular books you might see a message telling you the book is in use. This is because on some e-books the number of people able to access at the same time is restricted.  You will be able to access it once it becomes available.

Finding e-books

You can search for e-books on a topic using Library Search:

  1. From Library Search, click on the Books and Ebooks tab.  
  2. Type in your search term.
  3. On the results page, select Source type, tick Ebooks and Apply. 
  4. From the results page select the e-book you would like and click Access options, then select the e-book. 

Screenshot of a search on study skills on Library Search, the ebooks filter under source type is ticked

 

You can also view all our e-book packages here: A-Z of Library E-Resources (e-books) It's worth taking a look at this list as there may be some specialist e-book resources for your subject that aren't available in Library Search.  Your Academic Liaison Librarian can also suggest resources for your subject.  

Reading e-books

You can read e-books on and off campus at anytime- all you need is internet access.

Depending on the e-book resource you will usually be able to Read online or Download the e-book.  We recommend you always try to read online.

An ebook cover with two options below: read online and download. There is an arrow and the word recommended pointed to read online.

Key features

Our e-books come from different providers so the features and interface may differ.  But generally you will be able to:

  • Search the e-book.  
  • Add notes, annotations, bookmarks and highlight (sign in required).
  • Print or copy pages (the number of pages you can print/copy will be restricted- look for information on how many pages this is).
  • Save the book to your own personalised bookshelf (sign in required).

Accessibility Options

There may also be different options to aid accessibility and readability.  For example, VLebooks has several accessibility settings which can be found on the left hand side of the e-book main screen.

A link called Edit Accessibility Settings is highlighted, a dialog box shows the options available.

Some e-book providers allow you to choose PDF or EPUB versions of the book. In general, EPUB books are more accessible, with reflowable text that can be enlarged without requiring scrolling in two directions. PDFs present content with a fixed width layout, which can make reading more difficult at high zoom levels. 

Accessibility statements for our most popular e-book providers:

Help guides

Below are the help guides for our most popular e-book resources.  If you're not sure which e-book resource you are using, look in the top left hand corner of the e-book website and the resource name should be there.