The SPU library owns eBooks through a variety of vendors and consortial agreements. They are located in our catalog and can be searched for in the same way you search for print items. While you are searching for materials for your next paper, you may find the book you want is an eBook. If that is the case, here are a few helpful pointers (and images that you can enlarge by clicking on them) to equip you to easily access eBooks.
How can you tell whether or not an item is an eBook in the catalog?
- Underneath the title and author information, you should see the word “eBook” and an icon of a book with an orange “e” on it.
- At the bottom left in the record listing, you may see the same orange “e” icon and a link to “View Now” which should take you to the book.
How do you access an eBook?
- An eBook record listing must say Seattle Pacific University in the “Libraries that own this item” field in order to be accessed by our patrons. eBooks that say they are owned by “Summit” or “WorldCat” are not available to SPU students online. It may be possible to request the item in print format. Click on the “Editions and formats” link to determine whether this is an option.
- You can access an eBook owned by SPU by selecting the “View Now” icon on the search results page, or, if that icon does not appear, click on the record.
- You should be able to find the item in the “Find a Copy Online” section using the list of links found under “Seattle Pacific University Library” or “Other Libraries.”
Tips:
You may need to log in using your SPU credentials regardless of whether you are on or off campus. If the eBook is part of our Orbis Cascade Alliance shared resources, you may also need to select your institution and select a loan period between 1-7 days to download the item to your computer.
We have a plentiful selection of eBooks in every subject area, so do not hesitate to take advantage of these resources. If you know you want to search our catalog specifically for eBooks, try narrowing the search by using the filter bar on the left side of the screen