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Library Guides

E-books: Troubleshooting

Help! Why can't I access an e-book?

Some e-books only allow access to a certain number of users at the same time. You might see a message such as:

  • session unavailable
  • maximum user capacity reached
  • this e-book is in use

​If so please try again later.  Remember to sign out of a session after use.

BibliU

Please make sure you have turned on the analytics cookies switch otherwise you will not be able to proceed to the book.

Cambridge Companions / Cambridge Books Online 

Some books may be limited-concurrency i.e. only a certain number of users can access a given book at once.

When you have finished reading please close any PDFs from the site that you have opened in your browser.

EBook Central

To download e-books from EBC you will need to have Adobe Digital Editions installed on your device. The software is free to download. You may need to create an Adobe ID and any email address and password can be used to do so.

EBSCOhost 

To download a book, you will need to sign in with a Google account or create a new personal account.

If someone is already reading the e-book, you will see the message “Sorry, this Ebook is in use”. Please try again later.

Once you have finished reading the e-book, ensure you close your browser window.

Kortext - please visit the Kortext tab

O'Reilly

If you reach a log-in screen with a list of institutions (but University of Westminster is not listed), please go to the top of the list and select 'Not listed? Click here'. Then enter your UoW email address. You should then be taken to a screen where you can log in with your UoW credentials.

VLeBooks - please visit the VLe tab

If you are repeatedly unable to access the e-books you want, please contact us via live chat or email ask-a-librarian@westminster.ac.uk.

Why is there no print function on O'Reilly Learning?

You CAN still print, but you'll need to use the print function of your internet browser. There is no print button on O'Reilly Learning itself. 

Why are e-books from Amazon/Google not available in Library Search?

Some e-books may be sold only to individuals, via sites such as Amazon, but are not available for purchase by university libraries or similar institutions.

This is because the way publishers sell e-books to institutions such as a university is different to how they sell to individuals due to licencing and the number of users involved.

Need more help?

If you're still having problems accessing an e-book you want, please contact us via live chat or email  studentcentre@westminster.ac.uk