UVic Libraries provides access to hundreds of thousands of eBooks via the library search. Vendors sell books to libraries as single titles, as you might purchase a physical print title, or they are available as part of an eBook collection/database.
Access to eBook titles is provided in a number of different ways and the license dictates what the user can do with an eBook (such as downloading, printing a chapter, requesting via inter-library loan).
The main ways in which UVic Libraries provides access to eBooks can be summarised as follows:
Subscription: UVic Libraries buys a subscription to an ebook collection/database and access is provided to the content whilst the subscription is maintained. The collection of e-books is not static and items can be added (i.e. newly available content) or removed (i.e. items are no longer licensed for inclusion) during the subscription period.
Evidenced-Based Acquisitions (EBA): UVic Libraries has four new EBA packages with Taylor & Francis, Wiley Online Books, Cambridge University Press, and Oxford University Press. These agreements last for one year and in that time, UVic Libraries has access to the whole publisher package offering and at the end of the EBA agreement, UVic Libraries purchases titles used most often. For more detailed information about EBA packages please see the EBA guide.
Perpetual: These titles have been purchased outright and we have perpetual or permanent access to these titles.
An eBook (short for electronic book, also written eBook or e-book) is converted digital text that forms the equivalent of a conventional printed book, sometimes protected with a digital rights management (DRM*) system. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the eBook as "an electronic version of a printed book," but eBooks can and do exist without any printed equivalent.
*DRM or Digital Rights Management refers to the controlled use of digital media by preventing access, copying or conversion to other formats by the end user.
After applying the 'Books' filter, it is quite simple to restrict your search to include only ebooks. Using your Netlink ID, you can access ebooks and other online resources through UVic Libraries, from wherever you can find an internet connection.
Looking under the 'Refine your search' menu on the left side of the search page, select 'Full text online' under 'Availability.' Your search results will now only display ebooks accessible remotely.
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