Using e-books on mobile devices
E-books on EBL, EBSCOhost and Ebrary can be downloaded for use on desktop PCs, laptops and tablets. This requires Adobe Digital Editions or, for tablets, Bluefire Reader. e-Books can be downloaded directly to a tablet, or downloaded and transferred to an e-book reader using a PC or laptop. Entire e-books cannot be read in this way on Kindles – at best you will be able to download
a limited amount as a PDF and transfer that to a Kindle device. This step-by-step guide explains what you need to do to read EBL, EBSCOhost and Ebrary e-books on a tablet or e-reader, including:
creating an Adobe ID, authorizing Bluefire Reader and Adobe Digital Editions, downloading an e- book, authorizing an e-reader and transferring e- books to the e-reader.
Create an Adobe ID account
An Adobe ID account is essential if you want to download Adobe DRM-protected e-books such as the Bodleian owned e-books on EBL, EBSCOhost and Ebrary. The ID is required to authorize Bluefire Reader for tablets & Adobe Digital Editions for PCs.
1. Go to https://www.adobe.com/uk/account.html, click Sign in, and then Don't have an Adobe ID?
2. Complete the registration form. You may need to visit the email you entered in order to validate your account.
Using e-books on your tablet
To read books offline on a tablet or smartphone you will need Bluefire Reader. This app is freely available for Android and iOS devices, but not Kindle Fire.
Install and authorize Bluefire Reader
1. From your device’s app store search for and install Bluefire Reader.
2. If you are not prompted to authorise Bluefire Reader when you open it, select Info > Authorize. You should get the screen below. Enter your Adobe ID and Password and select Authorize. You will only need to do this once for each device running Bluefire Reader.
Download an e-book
Whilst you can read EBL, EBSCOhost and Ebrary e-books online on a tablet, it is useful to download e-books to Bluefire Reader as it provides a better reading experience. To download:
1. Download* the e-book and if asked, choose to open with Bluefire Reader. For Ebrary e-books you may need to download the .acsm file to your device first and then choose to open with Bluefire Reader. You are advised against using the Ebrary app.
*More detailed instructions for downloading can be found below.
Apple iPad – “Open with” Android tablets – “Open with”
2. The e-book will be downloaded and should now be available to open and read in Bluefire Reader.
Using e-books on your e-reader
Install and authorize Adobe Digital Editions on your PC
1. The latest version of Adobe Digital Editions can be downloaded from
http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/digital-editions/download.html. Follow the instructions for installation. This guide uses version 2.0 of Adobe Digital Editions in its examples.
2. Launch Adobe Digital Editions from the start menu. If you are not prompted to authorise Adobe Digital Editions, click Help > Authorize Computer, select Adobe ID from the drop-down menu, enter your Adobe ID and Password and select Authorize. This process only needs to be done once for each computer running Adobe Digital Editions.
Do not use
Download an e-book and read offline
1. Find an e-book you wish to download from the EBL, EBSCOhost or Ebrary e-book platforms.
2. Download the e-book:
a) On EBL you will need to first Read Online
…before you can then choose the e-book format (if available) and then to Download.
b) On EBSCOhost click Download This eBook (Offline)
If you are signed in to your My EBSCOhost account, a pop-up will open where you can click Checkout & Download.
If you are not logged in when you try to download, then you will be asked to sign in.
c) On Ebrary you will need to first click Full Download
…and in the pop-up box select Download Your Book. You might be asked to select your device or asked to install Adobe Digital Editions.
3. Open the downloaded file with Adobe Digital Editions. Adobe Digital Editions will then download your e-book and place it into your library.
4. The time remaining on the loan is shown in the top right corner of the book.
a. When the loan expires, you will be unable to open the e-book and will need to download the e- book again if you wish to continue to use the book offline.
Updated 20/11/2014 – Ian Chilvers Transferring e-books to an e-reader – “sideloading”
These steps will describe how to transfer a downloaded EBL, EBSCOhost and Ebrary e-book to an e-reader.
1. With Adobe Digital Editions open, connect the e-reader to your PC.
2. If this is the first time you have used the e-reader with Adobe Digital Editions you will need to authorize it.
a. Select the device, click on Settings > Authorize Device…. This process only needs to be done once.
3. Whilst in All Items, drag and drop the e-book from the library to the device – a green plus + will appear if you are dropping the e-book to a valid location. The e-book will then be copied to the e- reader with the same loan time remaining.
a. Once the loan expires, you will be unable to read the e-book on your e-reader and will have to download and transfer the e-books again.
4. Safely Remove the device from the computer and you will now be able to view the e-book on your e-reader.
N.B. Whilst it is possible to make notes and create bookmarks using Adobe Digital Editions and supported e- readers, these notes and bookmarks are not transferred with the e-book and are also lost once the loan has expired.
