E-Books

An introduction to e-books

E-books are electronic books and have become an important part of library resources. They are very useful for readers because:

• They generally can be accessed anytime, anywhere
• They can’t be damaged or lost
• They don’t have to be returned

The McGill Libraries have access to many e-book collections on a great variety of subjects, from technical and academic topics, to literature and general fiction. However, it can take a bit of knowledge and help to navigate the world of e-books effectively.

Finding the right e-book

You can limit your search in the McGill catalogue for only e-books. For more information as well as search tips, please look at the section on Finding eBooks.

Reading and using an e-book:

Once you have found a title, there are several factors which influence how you can use and read your e-book.

1. What kind of file is it? File types

Unlike books, e-books do not exist in one standard format.  For example, here are some file types you may see:

• .azw
• .ascm
• .doc
• .html
• .mobi or.prc
• .pdf
• .rtf
• .tpz

…and there are more!

File types are not interchangeable and this can cause some problems. Not all devices can understand all file types, so it is important to know which file types are supported by your device. Laptops can generally access everything with the right program. For technical help with devices, please see the More help page, or you can Ask a librarian.

2. What collection is the e-book a part of?

McGill Library’s e-book collections are available from different publishers and platforms, and each of their e-book sites work a little differently. For example, some of them allow you to download the e-book in whole or in part, and some don’t allow downloading at all. Thus, if you are looking specifically for an e-book you can read offline, you might be limited to certain collections.  For more information on the various collections and what each allows, please see Downloading e-books and Printing and copying.

3. Does your e-book have Digital Rights Management (DRM)?

Digital rights management is something used and applied by rights holder, like authors and publishers, to help protect the copyright of their e-books, as it can stop people sharing e-book files without permission.  Unfortunately, DRM can be confusing, as it is not required for every e-book, but when used, it often requires special software so that the e-book file works. McGill Library has both e-books with, and without DRM. For more information, please see the page on Adobe Digital Editions.

4. Do you use assistive technology?

If you have questions on how to find accessible e-books, please see the page on Accessibility.