Library FAQ
The Library can purchase ebooks from many publishers, and many Library ebooks are available with unlimited use licenses - meaning that an unlimited number of users can access the book online at the same time.
You can search for ebooks the Library already owns using OneSearch.
You can tell an ebook is available to unlimited users in OneSearch by looking at the public note, highlighted in the image below. The note will read "Unlimited user access".
Some books are available to unlimited users as well as DRM-free, which means that the entire book can be downloaded as a PDF (sometimes this must be done one chapter at a time) and read using any PDF software. DRM-free ebooks are more usable offline than DRM-protected ebooks because you must use a special e-reading software, such as Adobe Digital Editions, to download the entire book to read offline, and you can only read the file offline for a specific amount of time (e.g., 1-3 weeks). A DRM-free file can be kept digitally and read for an unlimited amount of time.
DRM-protected ebooks will show a note such as "Offline viewing requires a free personal account and free 3rd party software". DRM-protected books can be read online in a browser without requiring any special software; DRM-protections only affect downloading the entire book. Often portions (such as single chapters) of DRM-protected ebooks can be downloaded DRM-free, but not the entire book as with DRM-free ebooks.
Generally, the following publishers sell ebooks to libraries that can be purchased with unlimited and/or DRM-free licenses:
- Springer
- Palgrave Macmilllan
- Elsevier
- Taylor & Francis / Routledge
- Gale
- Oxford University Press (and university presses generally)
- Rowman & Littlefield
- Business Expert Press
- Sage
- De Gruyter
- Any ebook found through JSTOR
If you are not finding an ebook in OneSearch that the Library already owns digitally that could replace your textbook, the CALM team or your subject librarian may be able to help. Email calm@csusm.edu to get started, or you can also use the Library Reserve system to add material to your course reading list. If the LIbrary doesn't own the material, we will attempt to order unlimited digital access.