How to find eBooks
Most eBooks are available by searching our Library. Type in a title or keywords into Library Search and refine your results to Book/eBook.
eBooks are made available with licences determining how, where, and when they may be used. Conditions of use for eBooks vary by platform and provider. Some eBooks have restrictions on the number of concurrent users, others have limits on the length of loan or may require special software to download.
A full list of eBook collections and associated allowances is available further down this page.
How to Use eBooks
How long can I borrow eBooks for?
The loan period of eBooks varies depending on the eBook supplier. Please see Reading and Downloading eBooks for details.
eBooks that are downloaded as a PDF can potentially be stored on your device indefinitely. Likewise, eBooks that are out of copyright (for example those available on Project Gutenberg) can be downloaded and used without restriction.
Number of users
Different eBook publishers may place restrictions on how many users may access an eBook at a time. If all copies of an eBook are in use, this information will be displayed on the eBook landing page. Some may allow you to place a hold in a queue or check back later for availability.
Ebook requests and loans are separate to loan limits on physical items from the Library collection and do not appear in My Library.
Print/Copy allowances
Different eBook publishers may place restrictions on how much can be printed from eBooks. Please refer to the section on Reading and Downloading eBooks, as well as checking the eBook record for 'publisher permissions' or 'availability' information.
What is DRM?
Digital Rights Management (DRM) controls the accessibility and compatibility of digital content with computers and devices. DRM is used across many digital formats, including eBooks. It allows publishers to control how we use eBooks, limiting how much we can read, copy, print, share and what devices they can be used with.
These limitations are primarily put in place to prevent piracy.
Special software such as Adobe Digital Editions may be required to access DRM protected eBooks.
How do I reference an eBook?
For more specific information on referencing eBooks, please see the Murdoch University Library Referencing Guides:
For more general information on referencing, please visit the link to Referencing
Request a purchase
If there is an eBook you'd like to see added to our collection, you can request for it to be purchased.
We will consider the requests in accordance with our collection policies and guidelines but cannot promise to purchase all suggested items.
Help & Support
If you need further help you can always ask us a question.
Reading and Downloading eBooks
Major eBook Collections at Murdoch University
| Collection | Topics | Printing/Downloading/Allowances |
|---|---|---|
| Proquest Ebook Central Adobe Digital Editions required |
eBooks in a range of subject areas | |
| VitalSource eTextbooks | Electronic textbooks in a range of subject areas | Varies for individual titles. Refer to guide for details. |
|
EbscoHost eBook Collection |
eBooks in a range of subject areas | |
| O'Reilly for Higher Education Collection | eBooks on a range of IT and multimedia topics |
Printing available using the print option on your browser. Download to read offline using the O'Reilly app, users must sign up with a Murdoch email address. Go to Sign In and then click the link “forgot password?” to create an account. |
| ScienceDirect eBooks | eBooks in a range of subject areas including biomedical, physical and environmental sciences, engineering, and management |
Printing available, open individual chapter PDFs to print. May download eBook individual chapters as PDFs to read offline, for entire book click 'download all chapters'. |
| Books in a range of subject areas. |
Printing available, open chapter or entire book as a PDF to print. May download entire eBook or chapters as a PDF to read offline. |
Other eBook Collections
| Collection | Topics | Printing/Downloading/Allowances |
|---|---|---|
| ACS (American Chemical Society) Symposium Series | Peer-reviewed books developed from the ACS technical divisions' symposia. | Users may view, download or print individual articles or chapters for their personal scholarly, research, and educational use. |
| ANU Press | Collection of free eBook titles covering a range of academic disciplines. |
Users may print and download a copy of an ANU Press eBook for their private and professional use. Commercial redistribution is strictly prohibited. |
| Books@Ovid | Ebooks on nursing, pharmacy, veterinary science and tourism. Includes Black's Medical Dictionary. |
Users may view, print and download sections for personal research and educational purposes only. Users must also comply with the copyright statement for each book.
|
| Cambridge Histories Online | Over 300 titles in the Cambridge Histories series. |
Users may copy and paste one chapter of each title or up to 5% of the pages from the total collection, whichever is the greater, during any given 4-week period. They may print one chapter or up to 20% of the pages from the total collection, whichever is the greater, during any given 4-week period. |
| CCH | Journals and online books on a wide range of legal topics. |
Can print (as PDF or text) individual sections or pages for research, comment, criticism and other scholarly activities, and as permitted by copyright law. Downloading not available. |
| eBooks on a wide range of disciplines including plant and animal sciences, farming, urban development and environmental management. |
Users may view, download, save and print eBooks for their own non-commercial educational and research use |
|
| Emerald Book Series | eBooks and journals on business, economics and management topics. Citations and abstracts are available for all other titles. | Users may download or print individual articles and chapters for personal use only. |
| HeinOnline Legal Classics Library | Collection of classic works from the 16th century to the present. Focuses on constitutional law, comparative law, political science, and other classic topics. | Users may print or download a maximum of 200 pages. Entire volumes / titles must not be downloaded. Limits are defined under print/download options for individual titles. |
| IGI Global eBooks | eBooks on gaming technologies, electrical engineering and industrial informatics. |
Users may download individual articles, chapters, case studies or proceedings papers for personal use and may print a copy of parts of the content for personal use. |
| Informit |
Multidisciplinary collection of Australasian resources covering a wide range of subjects. Includes journals, books, conference proceedings and television broadcasts. |
No technological restrictions but usage must conform to licence. Users may print or download single copies of articles, chapters and other records, for individual and private research or study only. |
| Kluwer Arbitration | eBooks specialising in the field of international commercial arbitration. |
Users may print and download a small proportion of content (for example a chapter), strictly for your personal non-commercial use. |
| OECD iLibrary | Books, journals and proceedings on economic and related topics worldwide |
Users may print and download whole books, chapters and articles for personal use, may include excepts in own work with proper acknowledgement of OECD. |
| Oxford Handbooks Online: Business & Management | Oxford Handbooks is a collection of scholarly research reviews and in-depth high level articles written by eminent scholars in business and management. | Users may print and download a portion of the content for research, teaching and private study. |
| Oxford Handbooks Online: Psychology | Oxford Handbooks is a collection of scholarly research reviews and in-depth high level articles written by eminent scholars in psychology | Users may print and download a portion of the content for research, teaching and private study. |
| Oxford Reference | Oxford Reference Online (ORO) contains dictionaries, encyclopaedias and other reference titles covering all subject areas | Users may print and download a portion of the content for research, teaching and private study. |
| eBook collections in business and management, and media and culture |
Users may print and download one chapter per title for research, teaching and private study only. |
|
| Sage Research Methods (SRM) | Research works that allow researchers to explore methods and concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. | Users may download or print a reasonable amount (not more than 250 pages). |
| Collection of eBooks and online reference works in various aspects of the sciences | Users may download or print individual chapters for personal use. |