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Finding and Using eBooks

How to find and use ebooks in the Harrisburg University catalog.

Finding and Using Individual eBooks

The Harrisburg University Library is mostly print-free, but provides access to thousands of books in electronic form (eBooks). eBooks can be found using the Discovery Search or through many of the subject-specific databases offered by the Library. 

Textbooks may not be available in the library's collections. Course textbooks must be purchased or rented through the Harrisburg University Bookstore.


Page Contents:

Find an Exact Title
When you know the exact title of a book you want to access, you can start on the Harrisburg University Library's website.

  • Enter just the title of the book you need in the search engine's search box: If you want to add author information, click "Advanced Search" and use a separate line for the author's name. 
  • If the Library provides access to the book, you should see it appear in the results list: Click on the title of the book for more information about it. Be sure that the book you select matches the title, author, year, and edition of the book you need. 

  • If the title contains common words and your initial search doesn't get you directly to the book you wanted, go back to the search box and change "Basic Search" to "Advanced Search" as highlighted above. Then change the drop down field next to the title you typed to Title. This will direct the database to only look at the title fields for all the records in the database:

  • Before you download a book, you can read a summary or view the table of contents or metadata, by clicking on its title. When you are ready to read it, click "Access Now,"  "Download," .pdf, or EPUB link to download the entire book or certain chapters. 
While eBooks can be read on your device, many have restrictions about how much of the content you can download, and many prevent copying and pasting of content. This is to prevent copyright violations and unauthorized sales.

Book Review vs. Actual eBook
Be sure to select the actual book you want, not a book review: A book review is a critical evaluation of a book often published in periodicals by other experts on the topics to help readers determine whether to purchase and read the book. Book reviews sometimes appear in a search results list before the actual book.

This is a complete eBook.
The title and author searched for appear and the item is tagged as an ebook. The record also shows that the item is part of an eBook collection.
Click image to enlarge.

 

This is a book review (not the complete book).

This item has obvious book review indicators, which may not always be present in a record, It also shows that the review was published in a periodical named ProtoView. In some cases, the author of the review will also appear in addition to the title of the book you need. 

Click image to enlarge.

Browse eBooks
If you want to search for eBooks on a topic but don't have a specific title in mind, you can search only eBooks:

  • Enter a search for a topic using keywords.
  • Click All Filters under the search bar. The main section of the screen will go gray and a side panel will appear.
  • Check the boxes labeled Full Text and eBooks.
  • Click Apply.

What if the Library Does Not Have the Book I Want?

If the Harrisburg University Library does not have access to the book you want, you may request limited sections of it using Interlibrary Loan Services. You may request a chapter or a short range of pages, assuming that copyright allows for the material to be reproduced and shared legally. The Library will cancel requests for scans of entire books, which violate copyright law, and print copies of books.

When making a request for a section of a book, it is a good idea to add a note stating that you would like the Table of Contents and Copyright page in addition to the specific pages requested so that you will be able to easily cite the material.