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Ebooks

This guide provides an overview of some of the more common ebook sites offered by the OWU Libraries and how to access them.

E-Textbook Availability

A *select* number of textbooks are available as ebooks on our database platforms.

Please note the following: 

  • We do *not* have ebook versions available for all course texts.
  • Some of the ebooks allow only one or three users at a time. 
  • Limits on access and availability are set by publishers, not the library or university.

Have more questions about e-textbooks available from the library? Contact us!

Current Semester Titles

Fall 2023 E-Textbooks

The following list includes links to available e-textbooks for current semester courses. 

Course Instructor Title Link No. of Users Platform Ebook ISBN
BIOL 344 Anderson Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Unlimited Access Springer 9781441995025
BUS 307 Baker Unmarketing Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781119335009

BWS 105

 Quaye Blue-chip Black Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780520251168
BWS 348 Quaye  We real cool Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780415969277
BWS 348 Quaye Live and death in the Delta Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781403960368
CS 255 McCulloch Computer Organization Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780124078864
CS 300 Guo Data Mining Unlimited Access Elsevier Science Direct 9780128043578
CS 300 Guo Machine Learning Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780262018029
CS 360 McCulloch Introduction to Algorithms Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780262033848
ENG 145 Allison Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780307764560
ENG 228 Comorau Mr. Loverman Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781617752728
ENG 332 DeMarco Merlin and the Grail Unlimited Access Cambridge Core 9781846150043
HHK 163 Carlson StrengthsFinder 2.0 Unlimited Access EBSCOHOST 9781595620156
HIST 111 Hysell Why the Middle Ages Matters Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780415780650
HIST 115 Baskes History of the Cuban Revolution Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781118942284
HIST 275 Chen Modern China Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780582772779
HIST 332 Baskes Lexicon of Terror Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780195134162
HIST 324 Chen From the May Fourth Movement Unlimited Access EBSCOHOST 9780791471388
HIST 346 Hysell Venetians in Constantinople Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780801891052
REL 358 Michael The Churching of America, 1776-2005 Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9780813535531
SOAN 260 Brown Social Change Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781442203006
THEA 101 Sadler Doubt: A Parable Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781559366205
THEA 200 Granger Top Dog/Underdog Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781559362016
WGS 110 Schrock Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy Unlimited Access Ebook Central 9781439911846
WGS 110 Schrock Stripped: Inside the Lives of Exotic Dancers Unlimited Access De Gruyter 9780814799338

Purchasing Course Ebooks

Students can buy physical and digital textbooks via the OWU Campus Store. 

Have questions about bookstore purchases? Email bookstore@owu.edu or call 740-368-3396. 

Sharing Course Ebooks

Some ebook versions of textbooks are available for rent and/or purchase via Amazon, directly from the publisher, or on platforms like VitalSource or RedShelf. This prompts some obvious questions: 

 

Why can't the library buy the ebook off Amazon, etc., and share the link?

Platforms like Amazon and VitalSource require individual accounts to identify buyers and users, so that only that account can access that purchased title. We can't provide a link to the whole university that would only work for one person.

 

But Amazon has family sharing!

Yes, Amazon allows Prime members to create a household/family library and the ability to share purchased content within that group. However, that group is limited to 2 adults and 4 children, and not all titles are not enabled for lending. In fact, most academic textbooks and bestsellers are *not* available for lending.

You can check and see if a title can be lent in your household group by looking at a title's Product Details section on their Amazon page: 

amazon product details lending enabled

 

Why are some titles available for the library to buy as ebooks and some aren't?

Ebook availability and access is determined by the book's publisher. They get to choose where it's sold and how it can be accessed. Within those parameters and those of our budget, the Library makes available as many titles as it can to as many people as it can.

Other Sources for E-books

Students should also check the ebook collections of their local public libraries. While most public libraries don't hold academic textbooks, they might have other titles on your class reading lists available for ebook checkout.