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Ebooks at Queen's

Ebook Features

Most ebook platforms offer a large number of features including: exporting citations, highlighting sections, downloading of the entire book or sections of a book for a defined loan period and printing a specific number of pages. Not unlike accessing journals online, each ebook platform will have a slightly different look and feel. Additionally, these features will vary across providers and may require you to create a platform-specific account.

  1. Account Sign-up
  2. Saving Ebook Lists and Annotations
  3. Copying Text
  4. Ebook Support

Account Sign-up

It may be necessary to sign up for an account with an ebook provider to use their special features. The EBSCOhost platform provides an example of this procedure. Using the sign-in navigation, users can create a My EBSCOhost account in order to save their search preferences as well as save items to a folder than can referenced later.

Screenshot of the Sign In to My EBSCOhost page, highlighting the link to Create a new Account

Saving Ebook Lists and Annotations

Some ebook platforms allow you to make and save annotations to ebooks, and to build virtual bookshelves from items in their collection. For example, signing up for an account at ProQuest Ebook Central allows you to save different colours of highlighted text and save books to a bookshelf that you can refer back to at a later date.

Screenshot of a book in ProQuest Ebook Central with highlighted text

Copying Text

Some ebook platforms provide different functionality for copying text than for downloading whole or partial ebooks.  For example, using the "Copy Text" feature at Scholars Portal Books allows users to select and export text with citation and URL information included.

Screenshot showing the result of using the copy text feature in Scholars Portal Books for the ebook Governing indigenous territories: enacting sovereignty in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Ebook Support

One of the most important features that ebook platforms offer is support and training. This platform-specific training is kept up to date and allows users to get the most of out of their ebook viewing experience. For example, Scholars Portal has a variety of online guides, including one for Scholars Portal Books.

Screenshot of the Borrowable Book FAQs page from the Scholars Portal Books guide