Most publishers of ebooks place restrictions on how much of a book may be downloaded.  These restrictions vary widely and frequently change. See the box to the right for more information.

Digital Rights/Restrictions Management (DRM) restricts which devices and programs can view an ebook, if the ebook can be printed, downloaded, and transferred between devices as a file, or if it must be viewed in a specific browser or reading program.

Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) software is used by multiple ebook platforms to electronically "check out" titles.

It is best, if you do open a book in ADE, to do so on your own personal machine rather than a public library computer so that you can still access the ebook, as a checked out ebook is tied to the machine itself and not just your account.

Common formats that can be used on many devices:

• ePub: ePub is an open E-book standard providing reflowable text and inline images. ePub files will generally work with any ereaders except Amazon's Kindle.
• PDF: Ebooks whose text appears as PDFs usually work well with most mobile devices and e-readers. PDFs do have issues with adaptive technology.
• Plain text, HTML, and more.

Examples of platform-restricted formats that are very uncommon in libraries:

• iBook: Restricted for use with Apple operating systems
• Kindle formats (.azw3; .azw; .kf8): Restricted for use by Amazon with the Kindle

See more formats of ebooks here.

If your device cannot read an Ebook's file, try converting the format using Calibre. DRM may prevent this tool from working.

Brief notes here outline ebook packages available through GC affiliation. In addition, see Open Access ebooks.

• ACLS Humanities E-book each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF; see "Printing and Downloading"
• Advances in Computers (ebook series) each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF
• Black Thought and Culture: African Americans from Colonial Times to the Present Printing a reasonable portion allowed; see "Permitted Uses."
• Brill Online Reference Works
• Cambridge Companions Online each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF or HTML. See Terms of Use.
• Cambridge Histories Online each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF or HTML. See Terms of Use.
• De Gruyter ebooks (titles can be found in OneSearch) each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF. See Terms and Conditions
• Early American Imprints, Series I, Evans, 1639-1800 download by page or multiple pages. See these directions.
• Early American Imprints, Series II, Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 download by page or multiple pages. See these directions.
• Early English Books Online can download full text PDFs
• Ebook Central to download a full ebook you must use Adobe Digital Editions. Portions of the text (each title varies in number of pages) can be downloaded as a PDF. Tips here.
• EBSCO Ebook Collection options vary by title. See Ebsco's download instructions and our tips.
• eHRAF World Cultures
• Eighteenth Century Collection Online each page can be downloaded as a PDF
• Gale Ebooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) sections can be downloaded as a PDF
• Gale Literary Sources sections can be downloaded as a PDF
• Handbooks in Economics each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF
• Internet Archive "Some books can be freely read and downloaded. Others can be borrowed and read in our online book reader." some features available only after you create an account and log in. Many file format options for those books that are available for download
• JSTOR Ebooks each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF, no limit on downloading full book
• Loeb Classical Library no downloading, must access via browser
• MIT Press Direct to Open Ebooks can download by chapter or full PDF of book
• Oxford Handbooks Online sections can be downloaded as a PDF. See Legal Notice
• Oxford Scholarly Editions Online each page can be downloaded as a PDF. See FAQ
• Oxford Scholarship Online each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF. See Legal Notice
• Palgrave Connect each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF, no limit on downloading full book. See Terms of Use
• PsycBooks (now also includes APA Handbooks) each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF
• Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing (PEP) whole books can be downloaded as a PDF or EPUB
• Romanticism Redefined: Pickering & Chatto and The Wordsworth Circle "In some cases you will see links to PDF versions of the original text," as per this FAQ
• Sabin Americana, 1500-1926 chapters and books can be downloaded as a PDF. See "Permitted Uses"
• SAGE Knowledge Handbooks (Temporarily Expanded Access during COVID-19) each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF. See "Acceptable Use"
• SAGE Research Methods each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF. See "Acceptable Use"
• Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive books can be downloaded as a PDF
• Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law each chapter for books can be downloaded as a PDF
• Social Theory download options are not clear, but can print and view as HTML easily. See "Permitted Uses"
• Springer Ebook Collection each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF, no limit on downloading full book. See Terms of Use
• Taylor and Francis Ebooks (titles may be found in OneSearch) each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF. See "Acceptable Use"
• Wiley Ebooks each chapter can be downloaded as a PDF, no limit on downloading full book. See "Terms and Conditions"
• Women and Social Movements, International - 1840 to Present books can be downloaded as a PDF
• Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000books can be downloaded as a PDF

Last updated January 2021