LibGuides: Using eBooks: Home

Using eBooks

The UMSL Libraries have purchased and subscribed to many eBooks for faculty, staff and students. These eBooks are restricted to UMSL users and include scholarly books as well as some popular fiction. The UMSL Libraries website also offers easy links to digital collections of open access and public domain eBooks.

There are two ways to read eBooks:
- Read them online (requires an Internet connection). All eBooks can be read this way. Look for a link that says "PDF Full Text," "EPUB Full Text," "Full Text from [Database Name]," or something similar.
- Read them offline by downloading them. Many, but not all, of our eBooks can be downloaded, often by a specific chapter(s) or section(s). Some platforms have a limit on the number of pages you can download from the same book. Some publishers also require additional software to read their books.
Some eBooks are available to multiple simultaneous readers; however, many have a user limit (usually 1-3 users at once).
See Help with eBooks by Provider if you are having trouble with a particular platform.

Finding eBooks

Discover@UMSL

Discover@UMSL is the library's main search tool for locating books, articles, and more. It is a helpful starting point for locating eBooks because it includes digital materials from multiple eBook platforms in the same search.

Type your topic into the box and click "Search."
Under "Filter by Source Type" on the left side of the results page, select "eBooks." You may need to click the "Show More" button if the eBooks box is not already visible.

Journals & eBooks by Title

A Discover@UMSL search will not include results from every single database. The Journals & eBooks search will allow you to:

Search by title (if you already know what you're looking for)
Browse by subject area

The results list will look similar to a regular Discover@UMSL search.

EBook Databases (Complete List)

You can also search for eBooks in a specific database. It is important to also search in databases because not all of our eBooks will show up in a Discover@UMSL search. Using databases is also helpful when you are looking for a particular type of book (e.g., encyclopedias) or for a particular subject area. For a complete list of UMSL's databases, visit our A-Z Database List.

To view databases with eBook content:
- Open the "Choose a Type of Resource" menu at the top of the screen.
- Select "E-Books"
- Alternatively, you can filter by Vendor/Provider. Providers that offer eBook content include EBSCO, JSTOR, and ProQuest, among others.

Popular EBook Platforms (for open access and public domain books, see the Free Ebooks tab)

eBook Collection (EBSCO)
EBSCO's eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) provides access to digital versions of thousands of books:
- UMSL's individually purchased titles
- Subscribed titles (EBSCO may change these, usually in December and July)
- Books with multi-user licenses can be used offline; single user titles cannot.
JSTOR
JSTOR contains articles and books, usually at least 3-5 years old, from scholarly sources. They also have some primary resource collections. For more recent material, use Discover@UMSL or other individual databases.
Journal Collections
Arts & Sciences I – XV
Life Sciences
Business IV
Hebrew Journals
Ireland
Public Health
Lives of Literature

Reports & Research
Security Studies
Sustainability

Primary Sources
19th Century British Pamphlets (Bristol Selected Pamphlets, Cowen Tracts, Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection, Hume Tracts, Knowsley Pamphlet Collection, LSE Selected Pamphlets, Manchester Selected Pamphlets, Wilson Anti-Slavery Collection)
World Heritage Sites: Africa (Reference)
Struggle for Freedom: Southern Africa (Reference)
Global Plants (Reference)
O'Reilly for Higher Education
Covers a wide variety of topics: computers, programming, hardware, system administration, security, general software, business case studies, accounting, careers, presentations, science, medicine, psychology, math, statistics & data science, travel & hobbies.
Formats include learning paths, case studies, interactive tutorials, audio books, videos, etc.
O'Reilly requires users to log in with their SSO and maintains a record of your progress and recently used items. See below for information on how to link directly to individual items.
Help: O'Reilly for Higher Education and O'Reilly for Public Libraries

Linking to a book within O'Reilly:
Example URL for Think Python, 3rd Edition: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/hands-on-machine-learning/9781492032632/
The direct link which will authenticate users for this book would be:
https://go.oreilly.com/university-of-missouri-at-st-louis/library/view/think-python-3rd/9781098155421/

The formula is https://go.oreilly.com/university-of-missouri-at-st-louis/library/view/ plus the section with the book's URL you see in your browser: think-python-3rd/9781098155421/
SpringerLink eBooks (Springer eBook Collections)
SpringerLink eBook titles (entire eBooks or individual chapters) can be viewed online, printed, saved, or downloaded in PDF format. Tip: To exclude content UMSL does not own, uncheck the box labeled "Include Preview-Only content."
Over the years, UMSL has purchased collections in the following areas:
- Behavioral Science
- Biomedical & Life Science
- Business & Economics
- Chemistry & Materials Science
- Communications & Media Studies
- Computer Science (including Lecture Notes in Computer Science)
- Earth & Environmental Science
- Education
- Humanities, Social Sciences, & Law (2014)
Collections were purchased in 2014, 2018, 2019.
Ebook Central (ProQuest)
Ebook Central is ProQuest's Ebook platform. The collection consists mostly of individually purchased titles.

Using eBooks

Using eBooks

Finding eBooks

Discover@UMSL

Discover @ UMSL

Journals & eBooks by Title

EBook Databases (Complete List)

Popular EBook Platforms (for open access and public domain books, see the Free Ebooks tab)