Q. Is the textbook I put on Course Reserve also available as an ebook?

We attempt to purchase ebook versions of all books on the textbook list each semester. Some publishers do not create ebook versions of their textbooks or they are not sold as a library-model ebook. In those cases, we have no options to purchase an ebook.

You can see if we have any access to an ebook by searching the textbook's title or ISBN in the Ebook Title Database. 

Some publishers only sell their textbooks using a Digital Rights Management (DRM) model that limits the number of simultaneous users, the checkout period,  and/or copying and pasting or printing content. Ebooks on the ProQuest Ebook Central, EBSCO Ebooks, and Digitalia Hispanica platforms use DRM. DRM-limited ebooks typically do not function well as textbooks, because very few students can use them at the same time, and that time may be the full checkout duration of 1 day or 1 week, with no means to "return" the ebook early, freeing up access for another user.

When we are aware an ebook on one of these platform is being used as a textbook, we will attempt to purchase another copy through a platform that does not use DRM. These platform typically have the ebook as a PDF or one PDF per chapter, and those PDFs can be downloaded and used without restrictions. Simply ask your college librarian to check if a DRM-free ebook is available on another platform.

Online Textbooks (e-reserve materials):

Please visit the following page for a guide and links to a list of available Online Textbooks - Spring 2025 for e-reserve materials by course number, course name or instructor.