How do I find an e-book?
I want to see if we have an e-version of a book that I need?
Answer
First, keep in mind that, if you are doing any research remotely (that is, from off campus, not connected to the Campus Wi-Fi), you need to have the campus VPN program (GlobalProtect) downloaded, installed, configured correctly, and activated on your compute before you go onto the library website.
Instructions on how to set up UCR's VPN can be found here.
There are two ways to see if the library has an e-version of a book:
- Search the Library Catalog; the search results should indicate whether the item is "Available Online" or not.
- If so, click on the title and scroll to the section in the record that says "Available Online" to find the link(s) to the e-version.
- Do a Full Text Search for the title in the HathiTrust database.
(Note: If it is available there, you will likely have to log in to HathiTrust separately before it gives you access to the e-book)
When you come across the record in the results, click on the title and scroll towards the bottom to find a link that says "Temporary Access" (note that there may be more than one). On the next screen, click the button on the right towards the top of the page that says "Check Out". You may have a limited time to access the item once it is checked out to you, but you can renew the check out multiple times.
Keep in mind: if you can't find an e-version of the item you need through either of these methods, but see that we have it available on our shelves as a physical book, and if you live close to campus, you can put in a request for the physical copy via our Curbside Pickup service.