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E-book Guide: Home

Welcome to ebooks

Ebooks can be accessed on and off campus at any time of the day or night. Ebooks are a useful alternative to print books if you're unable to get to the library, if a print copy of the book is unavailable or if print is not your preferred reading format.  

LSBU's largest ebook collection is on the EBSCO platform, followed by Ebook Central (ProQuest) and VLeBooks (Askews and Holts). 

Ebooks can be accessed by current students from each LSBU campus (Southwark, Havering and Croydon). For Alumni and visitor information, see Alumni E-Resources.

Entire ebooks can be read online, and depending on licencing, entire titles or individual chapters can be downloaded for a set period of time or permanently.

Information on accessing ebooks, ebook accessibility and alternative access to ebooks are provided in the tabs above.

Overview of our ebook platforms

Homepage / FAQ

ProQuest Ebook Central Homepage and FAQ and Support.

Sign In

LSBU Username and password (see screenshot).

Coverage

11,300+ purchased titles and 470+ DDA titles.

Access

Ebooks are available in the following models: 

  • Single user – one user at a time can view an ebook 
  • 3 user – Three users can view an ebook at the same time. 
  • Non-linear – Usage of the ebook is limited by how many times the book is viewed. It can be viewed by multiple users at the same until the credits have been used up. 
  • Unlimited access - an unlimited number of users can access the ebook for an unlimited time. 

You will be able to find out what model an ebook is by looking at 'Availability' details on Ebook Central platform.

Formats available

Read online - desktops, tablets and laptops only.

Download PDF – chapter download.

EPUB – text reflows making it easier to read when using mobile devices e.g. phones / tablets.

Downloading

PDF – book chapters and sections can be downloaded as PDF within limits.  The number of pages available to print is displayed under 'Availability' on the detail page.

EPUB – gives greater reflow of text and therefore useful format for downloading material to mobile devices.

Downloading and printing limits reset daily.

FAQ about ProQuest Downloading.

Read online

Sessions will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity.  

FAQ about ProQuest Reading Online.

Annotation / note taking

Users can bookmark, annotate, highlight, make notes and export notes on Ebook Central.

Accessibility

ProQuest eBook Central Accessibility Guide. This guide explains how to adjust colours, fonts, magnification, enable text-to-speech and more.

Referencing / Citations
  • APA 
  • Chicago / Turabian - Notes-Bibliography
  • Chicago / Turabian - Author-Date
  • Harvard
  • MLA
  • Vancouver

Referencing options can be accessed by selecting Settings > Profile > Default Citation Style > Choose as appropriate > Agree privacy policy and Terms of Service > Save.

Choose 'Citation' on the title page of a book for a citation. These can then be exported to RefWorks / EndNote / Citavi. 

Example ProQuest Title

Homepage / FAQ EBSCO Homepage and FAQ and Support.
Sign In

LSBU Username and password (see screenshot).

Users will need to create their own username and password to access additional features e.g. folders.  

Coverage 750+ purchased titles and 200,000+ subscribed titles.
Access

Ebooks are available in the following models: 

  • Single user – one user at a time can view an ebook 
  • 3 user – Three users can view an ebook at the same time. 
  • Non-linear – Usage of the ebook is limited by how many times the book is viewed. It can be viewed by multiple users at the same until the credits have been used up. 
  • Unlimited access - an unlimited number of users can access the ebook for an unlimited time.

You will be able to find out what model an ebook is by looking at 'Concurrent User Level' details on EBSCOhost.

Formats available

Available in PDF and EPUB 

EPUB format is not compatible with Internet Explorer browsers 7 & 8

Downloading

To download material a personal EBSCO account must be created (separate from LSBU account).  Additionally Adobe Digital Editions account is required in order to view downloaded material.

Downloading and printing limits reset daily.

EBSCO downloading an ebook support.

Read online

Sessions will time out after 30 minutes inactivity.

FAQ about reading EBSCO ebooks.

Annotation / note taking

Notes can be added using My Notes function and viewable in side bar. No highlighter function.  

Creating a note on ebooks guide.

Accessibility

EBSCO eBook Accessibility Guide. Information covers low vision, colour impairments, dyslexia, using keyboards for screen navigation and navigating e-books with screen readers.

Referencing / Citations
  • ABNT
  • AMA
  • APA
  • Chicago / Turabian Author-Date
  • Chicago / Turabian : Notes-Bibliography
  • Harvard (Australian)
  • MLA
  • Vancouver / ICMJE 

Choose 'Cite on the title page of a book for a citation. These can then be exported to EndNote / ProCite /Reference Manager / RefWorks / BibTeX etc.)

Example EBSCO Title

Homepage / FAQ VLeBooks Homepage and FAQ and Support.
Sign In LSBU Username and password (see screenshot).
Coverage 280+ purchased titles 
Access

Ebooks are available in the following models: 

  • Single user – one user at a time can view an ebook 
  • 3 user – Three users can view an ebook at the same time. 
  • Non-linear – Usage of the ebook is limited by how many times the book is viewed. It can be viewed by multiple users at the same until the credits have been used up. 
  • Unlimited access - an unlimited number of users can access the ebook for an unlimited time. 
Downloading

Some books can be downloaded for 1 day.

Chapters can be printed or downloaded as PDF if it doesn't exceed the page limit.

To download as PDF: select print > print to PDF > save. 

FAQ about downloading VLeBooks

Read online

Sessions will time out after 2 hours.

FAQ about reading VLebooks.

Annotation / note taking

The note taking function appears in a tab on the left side of the page. 

To take notes, select the notes tab and a panel will appear under the current page.  Notes can be made in this panel.  When saved the notes will appear in the left-hand side panel with page number.

Books can be saved to bookshelf.

Accessibility

VLeBooks Accessibility Guide. This guide covers Assistive Technology Recommendations, Keyboard Shortcuts for navigation, Downloading Adobe Digital Editions, Edit Accessibility Settings, Colours and Contrasts, Copying and Printing and Compatible Devices.

  • Accessibility options can be accessed on the left-hand size of a title > Edit Accessibility Settings > Change Font | Contrast | Link | Colour | Popups as necessary > Save Changes.

Example VLebook Title

Other Suppliers

For other suppliers (e.g. Emerald, Wiley, Ovid, IEEE, Law Trove, etc.) – go to our A-Z Databases list.

Ebook jargon

1 user - 1 person at a time can access the e-book.

3 user - 3 people can use an e-book at the same time.

Non-linear – Usage of the ebook is limited by how many times the book is viewed.  It can be viewed by multiple users at the same until the credits have been used up. 

Unlimited - An unlimited number of users can access the ebook at the same time.


Read online - You need to be connected to internet to read the book. Some ebooks can only be read online. 

Chapter download - Chapters can be downloaded to devices if Adobe Digital Editions is installed on device. If the whole chapter cannot be downloaded a message will appear to inform users how many pages may be downloaded and the option to select sections of the chapter.

Request this Book - Some ebooks are purchased  only once a student reads it. In some cases, a librarian is required to approve the purchase, and therefore it can take up to 2 business days to become available.


EPUB - is a format that allows for re-sizing of text.  On mobile devices this format will resize / reflow to fit the device being used.

License - Terms and conditions of ebook use.

DRM - Digital Rights Management. This is used by publishers to protect copyright and set access limits e.g. copying / printing. DRM limits the number of pages that can be copied and downloaded.

Accessibility - The extent to which the e-book meets the needs of the individual user e.g. can text be re-formatted / is it compatible with assistive software and technology.

Alumni and Ebooks

E-resources for Alumni

Due to the conditions of our licences we can't give Alumni access to all of our electronic resources and databases, but you can access many of them.

Alumni e-resources


There are also a limited number of resources available within the Library buildings via our catalogue PCs

You can also access some e-resources from other libraries:

British Library

Westminster Reference Library

The Libraries Consortium via your public library. Visit their eLibrary