Find ebooks

All students and staff can access our ebooks. You have access to over 250,000 ebooks through the Library.

For how to find and read ebooks, see Your Library on Canvas.

How long can I borrow an ebook for?

  • If you download by chapter, you can keep the chapters for as long as you like.
  • If you download the whole book to Adobe Digital Editions, you can borrow the book for 1-7 days.

Can I read ebooks on my mobile device?

Yes, you can read ebooks on any device that supports PDF file types, which includes most tablets, phone and other mobile devices.

The book I want says "Reached user limit" and I cannot open the book. What does this mean, and what should I do?

  • This means 1-3 students have chosen to download the whole book or they are reading the book online and thus blocking the book for other students.
  • You should try again later to view the book.
  • Contact us if you still cannot access the book.

What does the Library do to help us access ebooks that often "Reach user limit"? These books are really important for my studies and I am frustrated that they are not available.

  • We keep an eye on ebooks that "reach user limit" and order more copies if this happens often. But we do ask that students follow the guidelines to download by chapter (where this option is available) to prevent this as much as possible.

What can I do if I search for a book I want in Library Search and it is not available as an ebook?

  • You can place a request for digitised chapters or portions of books with our inter-library loan service.
  • Go to the Interloans webpage and then login to the Interloan service using your AUT login and password.
  • For more help, email the Interloans team at interloans@aut.ac.nz.

What about accessibility? How can I use my screen reader to read an ebook?

Can I read ebooks offline?

Yes. There are two ways to do this:

  • Download a chapter PDF. You can save this PDF on your phone or computer and you can transfer this PDF to another device in whatever way your device supports file sharing such as email, save to the cloud or AirDrop.
  • Download the whole book. When prompted, download and install Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) if you don’t already have it. The book will be downloaded to ADE on your computer. After the set loan period (usually 1-7 days), the book download will expire.

What are the benefits of chapter download?

  • Chapter PDFs are searchable, include a citation and do not expire.
  • Chapter downloads refresh daily, allowing you to download another chapter from the same book every 24 hours.
  • You only need an internet connection when you download.
  • You do not need to install extra software.
  • This method shares the ebook more fairly among students. Sometimes the publishers have limits on the number of people who can download or read an ebook online at any one time. If you use the option to download a chapter, more people can access the book at the same time.

Contact

Information Literacy team
Email: infolit@aut.ac.nz