General tips
Downloading e-books is not always straightforward, as each collection has different requirements and download possibilities. Here are some general points to keep in mind.
Not all books can be downloaded
Whether it is possible to download depends on the e-book collection. Each one functions differently.
Sometimes you can download parts of the book, but not the entire book
How many pages you can download or print depends on the collection as well. Each collection has its own particular set of limits.
You may need to create a personal account to download
Some collections require that you create a personal account to download an e-book. This is a separate login on the collection’s website.
Some downloads are time-limited (i.e., borrowed)
Some e-book collections only allow time limited downloads, like Overdrive, where you can ‘borrow” a book for a certain amount of time before the file expires and then can no longer be accessed.
Most downloaded files are PDF’s
The majority of e-book files for download are in PDF’s, although occasionally you can choose epub or other e-book formats. If you need a specific file format for accessibility purposes, please see the section on Accessibility.
Keep in mind usage rights
Some of our e-books are subject to license agreements with e-book publishers. These licences restrict how an e-book can be used. For example, in many cases you are allowed to download or copy a single chapter or a single copy of an e-book. Sometimes you are only allowed to download or copy a certain percentage of the book. You are not allowed to post a chapter or entire e-book to social media or the internet, however. If you need more information about usage rights, please contact collections.library [at] mcgill.ca
Download options by collection
This is a small selection of McGill’s e-books collections. To browse or search a list of all collections by name, please see the A to Z list.
| Name of collection | Can I download/read Offline? | How much can I download? | Do I need a personal account? | Is the download "borrowed"? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Yes |
A ten-page excerpt |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
By chapter or full book, depending on title |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
To download book sections as PDFs, you will need to create a login and password. |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes, some titles can be read offline. They are either cached in the browser for offline reading for a certain time period, or downloaded without restriction. To check what a book allows, open it in the viewer and click on "More Details" at the top of the page. |
Where available, whole book |
No |
Yes, some titles may be cached in your browser for offline reading for a specific time period. |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Ebook Central (formerly EBL, ebrary, and MyiLibrary) |
Yes, although there are restrictions. If you want to download the entire text, many titles can be 'borrowed" (time-limited download), although not all titles may be available. If you want to download a specific page or chapter, each book allows a certain number of pages to be saved to PDF, and these saved pages do not expire. |
A specific number of pages or borrow the entire book |
You do not need to login to save pages, but you do need to login to borrow the full-text book |
Yes, for the full text, and you will need Adobe Digital Editions to borrow books. |
|
Yes, some titles can be "borrowed"(time-limited download) but not all content is available this way. You can generally save pages from a title to PDF, but the number of pages is different for each book. To see how many pages may be saved for a particular title, look for "Publisher Permissions" under the book's detailed record. |
A specific number of pages or borrow the entire book |
To read a book offline, you will need a personal account. |
Yes, for the full text, and you will need Adobe Digital Editions to borrow books. |
|
|
Yes, some books out of copyright can be downloaded in PDF. Other materials are limited to searching the text only. |
Where available, entire book |
Yes, you must be logged in as a McGill user to download. The login should be prompted after you click a download link. |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Up to 200 pages of a title can be downloaded |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes. You can download a chapter/section by opening it in the online viewer and than clicking on the "options" button on the bottom of the right vertical menu. A "download section" command is there. |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Entire book |
No |
No |
|
| O'Reilly E-Books | Yes | Nothing, online reading only | No | No |
|
Yes, you can download books to your computer, but you will need Adobe Digital Editions. Downloading books to other devices will require the Libby app. You can also read them in your browser without any extra software required. |
Full book |
Yes, sign in with your McGill username and password |
Yes, up to 30 titles at once, the lending period varies from title to title. Some titles are not time-limited. |
|
|
Yes, by selecting "View PDF" link, located to the left of the chapter abstract. |
Individual chapter |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapter |
No |
No |
|
| Sage Reference | Yes | Individual chapters, full cases and videos | No | No |
|
Yes |
Individual chapters |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes, but a few books have digital rights management applied. They are marked with a "DRM" icon. They have different options than the other titles, such as:
|
Whole book |
No |
Maybe, as about 5% of titles in the collection must be borrowed. The vast majority are not borrowed, however. |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters or whole book (clicking on the PDF tab on the book's description page downloads the entire PDF) |
No |
No |
|
|
Yes |
Individual chapters or all chapters |
No |
No |
Borrowing and holds
All about borrowing:
Some collections don’t allow you to permanently download an e-book file. Rather, they let you “borrow” it. This means you get to download it for a limited time. After this time, the file will have disappeared from your computer, or no longer be accessible. It’s like borrowing a print book from the library, except you don’t have to come back to return it! Some of the collections that use borrowing/time-limited downloads are:
Returning a borrowed e-book early
Some collections allow you to return an e-book early. This frees up a spot on your loan list, allowing you to take out another book instead.
So, I really don’t have to return an e-book?
No, the file takes care of itself automatically!
Holds:
Some of the e-books in our collections are only authorized for one or several users at a time. If all the copies are currently being used, you will have to wait until a copy becomes available. Sometimes, you can place a “hold” on the digital copy. This works very like a “hold” on a physical book at the library. It allows you to reserve the next copy that becomes available, at which point you have a certain amount of time to download the book. Some of the collections that allow holds on e-books are:
