Library Guides: E-books: E-books FAQs

What are the benefits of using e-books?

E-books can be accessed on and off campus.
They are available 24/7.
No library charges
Many of our e-books allow you to search within the text, highlight and make annotations.

E-books can be accessed by current City, University of London students and staff.
Alumni and SCONUL members are not entitled to access our e-books.

E-books are compatible with all operating systems and popular web browsers.
It is recommended you install the most recent operating system and web browser on your device.
Adobe Acrobat Reader software is required to print/copy/download e-books. This software should be installed on all City network PCs.
You can download Adobe Reader for free to your own device from the Adobe website.

The number of pages you can copy, print or download will vary depending on the platform you are using.

E-books are subject to DRM (Digital Rights Management) controls.
Publishers use DRM to control and manage the usage of their e-books. DRM is used to limit concurrent users (the number of people using it at the same time) and to limit the number of pages a user can copy, print or download.
Our e-books are purchased from a variety of sources, the DRM varies between each provider.
Restrictions are imposed by the e-book provider and not the library.

The publisher/platform specific pages in this guide provide further information on copy, print and download allowances.

Is your Library Account valid? What is the date on your City card?
Have you entered your City email address and City password correctly?
Do you have Adobe Reader installed? You can download the software for free from the Adobe website.
Have you tried clearing your cache? These instructions are provided by wikihow via the Creative Commons license. Once cleared, close your browser and log back in.
Do you have the latest operating system/web browser installed?
If the problem persists try using a different browser and report the problem to us.
Try again later. It may be a DRM restricted title with limited concurrent usage

If you are still experiencing problems please contact us.