Download Library eBooks to Read Offline on an eReader or Laptop (works with ebrary & EBSCOhost)
eBooks from ebrary and EBSCOhost allow the ability to download and read offline (on a personal computer or ereader). You can find ebooks by searching the library catalog.
To read books offline on your computer or to transfer to a dedicated eBook reader (Nook, Sony, Kobo) you need to do the following:
- Install Adobe Digtal Editions on your computer
- Register for an Adobe ID
- Choose your book from the library catalog - if it's an ebrary book you need to create an ebrary id. If it's an EBSCOhost book you need to create a MyEBSCOhost id.
From ebrary or EBSCOhost, download the book to Adobe Digital Editions
- To transfer to an ereader, plug the device into the computer
- Authorize the device using your Adobe ID
- Your device will appear in the Adobe Digital Editions menu
- Drag the book from Adobe Digital Editions library to your device
- Eject your device
For Kindle users: as far as we know, Adobe Digital Editions is not compatible with the Kindle.
For Kindle Fire users and iPad users: downloading ebooks to the iPad and Kindle Fire is possible, but the steps will be a little more complicated. See instructions for Kindle Fire and iPad further down on this page.
Below is more detail about downloading ebooks to your computer:
After installation, the Setup Assistant wizard prompts you to activate Adobe Digital Editions. During activation, you have the option to authorize your computer with an Adobe ID. An Adobe ID enables you to transfer items protected by digital rights management (DRM) between your computer and ereader device.
Once you have Adobe Digital Editions, you can download ebooks.
To download a book from ebrary:
Open Adobe Digital Editions
In ebrary, sign in to ebrary (or Create new account)
Click the Download button at the top of the screen
Choose Download the entire document for 7 days in Adobe Digital Editions format
Click OK
NOTE: some publishers do not allow downloads
Once downloaded, the book will appear in Adobe Digtial Editions and will be available to you for 7 days.
To download a book from EBSCOhost:
Open Adobe Digital Editions
In EBSCOhost, click the Download (offline) link for the eBook you would like to download
You will be prompted to sign in to My EBSCOhost (or Create new account)
You can set a checkout period of 1-7 days
Click Checkout and Download
Note: some publishers do not allow downloads
The book will appear in Adobe Digital Editions on your computer and will be available to you for the checkout period.
Ereaders: Downloading to ereader devices (Nook, Sony, Kobo) is a two step process. First follow the instructions above to download the ebook to Adobe Digital Editions. Then, to learn how to transfer an ebook from Adobe Digital Editions to your ereader go here: http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/help/#transfer_supported_reader
To transfer an ebook from your Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) library to a dedicated ereader, you will need to connect the ereader to the computer containing your ADE library. You will be prompted to the device using your Adobe ID.
To use an iPad to read Adobe Digital Editions books offline, it's a bit more complicated. See here: http://www.bluefirereader.com/using-library-books.html.
To use a Kindle Fire, see here: http://support.ebrary.com/kb/ebrary-books-on-kindle-fire/
For more information, please contact Laura Crain (lcrain@smcvt.edu) at 654-2388 or the Library Reference Desk: 654-2405.