Ebooks
Search the Library
If you are a Brookes student, you can access our ebooks from anywhere using your Brookes login. This guide will help you with finding, reading and downloading library ebooks, using the main ebook platforms you're likely to see.
Note that publishers do not always make their titles available as library ebooks. In some cases a book can be purchased for individual use (e.g. via a Kindle) but it may not be available for libraries. This is particularly true of textbooks.
How to search for ebooks
Ebooks are listed on LibrarySearch. Follow the steps below to search our collection:
- Go to the Library home page and choose the tab 'Books'.
- Search for the book by author and/or keyword or a combination of both. At the results screen click the check box marked eBook to select only e-book content.
- Click on the book title to see the full details and click for the button marked 'View eBook'. Log in when prompted with your Brookes username and password.
Download our illustrated step-by-step guides
Reading and downloading ebooks
Our ebooks are on a variety of online platforms and each of these offers different options for viewing and downloading. Below you will find general information about reading and downloading. For more information about the individual platforms we have produced an Ebooks guide.
Reading ebooks: which browser should I use?
Chrome and Firefox are the preferred browsers for viewing most of our ebooks
Downloading ebooks using Adobe Digital Editions
In order to download ebooks on the ProQuest Ebook Central and Askews & Holts VLeBook platforms you will need to have the Adobe Digital Editions programme on your laptop or computer. You can download Adobe Digital Editions here. IT Services have installed Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) as an App on Brookes networked computers. If you are using one of these PCs, you should launch Adobe Digital Editions first (from the "AppsAnywhere" page) and then go to the ebook. Brookes staff may need to request the programme from IT Services if they want it installed on their office PC. An app version is available for iOS and Android devices. The guide How to set ADE to open ebooks automatically has instructions for Windows and Mac users.
FAQs:
Q: I can see a file which is the ebook title, with a filename extension .acsm, but clicking on this doesn’t open the file. Where is the ebook?
A: This file is not the actual ebook, it authorises ADE to download and import the full text of the ebook for the loan period. You may need to manually import the ebook via ADE File menu, then Add to Library. Then locate the .acsm file for the ebook in the downloads folder on your device. ADE may warn you that the file wants to send some information (which is how the borrowed ebook starts its countdown to expire) - click OK.
Q: Adobe Digital Editions can’t find or open the .acsm file downloaded.
A: Go to the ADE File menu, then Add to Library and change the format of the files you’re searching for to Adobe Content Server Message. Your .acsm files will become visible and you can import them into ADE.
Q: When I open an ebook on an iPad, or in Safari for Mac iOS, a blank page appears.
A: Tap on the blank page and options will appear top right. Choose Open and then choose ADE. Alternatively, press the control button and click on the downloaded .acsm file. Select Open with and ADE.
Free ebook sites
- Internet Archive E-book and Text Archive: a range of ebooks including both popular and academic titles
- Directory of Open Access Books: open access books from academic publishers
- Project Gutenberg: a collection of 38,000 free ebooks, with a strong emphasis on older literary works
- Getty Virtual Library