Tutorial: Using Ebooks
The Basics
- Only available through the library website
- Only available to UMBC faculty, staff and students
- UMBC users cannot borrow or access ebooks owned by other USMAI schools
- You can only download ebooks on personal PC or laptops
- You can only read (not download) ebooks on public computers
- Ebooks cannot be placed on hold, recalled or renewed
Choose an ebook provider to learn more:
EBSCO
To checkout or download an EBSCO title you will need to set up an EBSCO account and create an Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) account.
| Loan Period |
1-7 days |
| Downloadable? |
Yes |
| Printing |
Yes (print/paste up to 100 pages) |
| Browser Compatibility |
Firefox, Chrome, and IE 10.0> |
| # of Simultaneous Users |
One |
| Supported Devices |
Adobe Digital Editions, Apple, Nook, Sony, Android, not Kindle |
Proquest Ebook Central (USMAI)
To download Proquest Ebook Central ebooks to Android and Apple devices you will need to download Bluefire reader.
Note: Proquest Ebook Central ebooks are not available to guest account users.
| Loan Period |
1-7 days |
| Downloadable? |
Yes |
| Printing |
Yes (print up to 20% of book and copy/paste 5%) |
| Browser Compatibility |
Firefox, Chrome, IE, and Safari |
| # of Simultaneous Users |
No limit |
| Supported Devices |
Adobe Digital Editions, Apple, Nook, Sony, Android, not Kindle |
Proquest Ebook Central (UMBC)
To download Proquest Ebook Central ebooks to Android and Apple devices you will need to download Bluefire reader.
Note: Proquest Ebook Central ebooks are not available to guest account users.
| Loan Period |
7 days |
| Downloadable? |
Yes |
| Printing |
Yes (print up to 40% of book and copy/paste 20%) |
| Browser Compatibility |
Firefox, Chrome, IE, and Safari |
| # of Simultaneous Users |
One |
| Supported Devices |
Adobe Digital Editions, Apple, Nook, Sony, Android, not Kindle |
SpringerLink
There is no checkout process with Springer ebooks.
| Loan Period |
No checkout needed |
| Downloadable? |
Yes |
| Printing |
Yes (the entire book) |
| Browser Compatibility |
Firefox: 8>, Chrome:16>, IE: 7>, and Safari: 5> |
| # of Simultaneous Users |
No limit |
| Supported Devices |
Adobe Digital Editions, Apple, Kindle, Nook, Sony, Android |
JSTOR
There is no checkout process with JSTOR ebooks.
| Loan Period |
Download chapters to keep |
| Downloadable? |
Yes |
| Printing |
Yes (unlimited copying/printing) |
| Browser Compatibility |
All |
| # of Simultaneous Users |
No limit |
| Supported Devices |
Adobe Digital Editions, Apple, Kindle, Nook, Sony, Android |
Troubleshooting
Why can’t I download an ebook?
Not all eBooks are available for download, some publishers restrict it and only allow their eBooks to be read online.
I've downloaded the ebook file to my desktop, but it won't open correctly.
You probably need to install Adobe Digital Editions software in order to read the book on your computer. You can download the newest version of the software; if that doesn't work for you, many people have success with one of these older versions.
I’ve followed all the steps to download an ebook to my mobile device, but when I open Bluefire reader, I get a "no tokens available" error message.
This means that Bluefire has not yet registered that a book has been downloaded. Closing and then opening the Bluefire Reader app a few times should solve this problem.
Why do I get a "Sorry, this eBook is in use" message after I have closed the eBook?
If you click the eBook Full Text link to read an eBook online, the eBook is checked out for the same duration of time that your institution has set as the session duration before timeout.
If you start a new session, the eBook will not be available until the previous session has ended unless you logged in as a Personalized User in both of those sessions.
Try clearing your Temp Internet files
Clearing your temporary internet files solves log-in problems, file download issues, and other common internet troubles.
With the exception of the mobile device instructions at the very end, all of these instructions take place in the actual internet browser.
Google Chrome
- Click on the Menu icon
- Under More Tools, click Clear browsing data…
- Select the items you want to clear (e.g., Browsing history, Download history, etc.)
- You can choose the period of time for which you want to clear cached information from the Clear data from this period drop-down menu. To clear your entire cache, select "the beginning of time"
- Click Clear browsing data
- Close window
- Exit Chrome and then re-launch Chrome
Safari
- Open the Safari menu and select Clear History
- Click the Clear History button
- Exit Safari and then re-launch
Mozilla Firefox
- Click on the Menu icon, then click on Options
- Select Privacy, then under History click the "clear your recent history" link
- Select the Time Range to clear (drop-down menu). Select "Everything" to clear the entire cache
- Click Details to choose what history elements to clear (cache, cookies, etc…)
- Click the Clear Now button
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and 11 (Windows 7 & Vista)
- Click the Tools menu (looks like a small gear on the upper right side).
- Choose "Safety"
- From the menu that appears, click "Delete browsing history"
- Select Temporary Internet Files, Cookies and website data, and History
- Click Delete
- Close the browser, and then reopen it
Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 (Windows 7 & Vista)
- Click the Tools menu (named either tools or looks like a small gear on the upper right side)
- Choose "Internet Options"
- Under "Browsing History" click "Delete"
- Select Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Download History, and Passwords
- Click Delete
- Close the browser, and then reopen it
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 (Windows XP)
- Click Tools in the upper toolbar or click on the Tools icon
- Click Internet Options and choose the General tab
- Click Delete under "Browsing History"
- Click Delete Files under "Temporary Internet Files"
- Click Yes on the Delete Files dialog box
- Click Close and then OK
Safari Browser On iPod/iPad/iPhone
- From the device's Home screen tap the Settings icon
- Choose Safari
- Tap Clear Cache
Nook Tablet Browser
- Clear cache through Privacy under Settings
Further questions or concerns, please contact the UMBC library Reference Desk at 410-455-2346 or https://library.umbc.edu/researchhelp.php
