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eBooks

For anyone interested to know more about eBooks then this is the page for you.  

Need help with finding and using eBooks? Try our dedicated guide

eBook licences

We buy eBooks whenever we can - our philosophy is to be 'e first'.  We know many of you still prefer print books so don't worry we still buy thousands of print books each year.

We have to buy eBooks that are licensed to Universities - and it's down to the publishers whether the book is made available to us.  It means many books we simply can't buy as an eBook yet - we can only get the print copy.

There are a few different types of licences available to us such as:

  • Unlimited (our preference)
  • Credit model (for example we may have 400 'credits' which means the book can be accessed 400 times - after that we have to pay again)
  • 3 users (3 of you can view the eBook at once)
  • 1 user only (only 1 of you at once can access the eBook)

We always try to buy the unlimited licence type  - but the eBook may not have that licence available and even if it does, they are very expensive.  An extreme example is a title that we could buy in print form for just over £100.....but the eBook version....  was almost £18K!  Now they aren't normally that expensive - but can often be around the £1,000 mark whereas print titles are usually £50-£100.  

Why can I only download an eBook for 24 hours?

This is to maximise opportunities for all students.  

We have several mechanisms to help get access to what you need quickly.

  • Books For You - You can request books for the library to purchase through our Books For You scheme.
  • Multi Reservations - If you're struggling to get hold of one one of our print books - reserve it.  We will purchase more copies if we see reservations get to a certain point.
  • Inter Library Loans - If you need a book or journal article that is not held in any format at one of the University of Derby libraries, the Inter Library Loans (ILLs) service may be able to obtain a copy from another library.
  • Demand Driven Acquisitions - When you're browsing the supplier eBook platforms if you try to access a book we don't own yet - we have rules built in that might purchase the book and you'll be able to access it seamlessly and instantly - don't worry we're paying!
  • Scan and Deliver - Scan and Deliver is our digital service for staff and Postgraduate students. This service enables you to request a digital copy of any chapter or article that the Library holds in print.

Under the Copyright Licensing Agency's Higher Education licence it is possible to digitise book chapters and journal articles for use by students.  

This means we can copy up to one article, chapter or 10% of the total, whichever is greater.