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Ebook Guide

Download & read offline

Downloading an ebook for offline reading gives you the opportunity to save the book locally on your device for a specified period of time. Downloading the book requires an Internet connection, but once the downloading is completed, access to the book is possible even when you are not connected to the Internet.

The required steps for downloading an ebook are described below.

1. Ensure your selected database supports offline downloading

Keep in mind that not all ebook databases support offline downloading. Among the databases available at the ACG Libraries, Ebook Central and the eBook Collection allow you to download ebooks for offline use; Perlego allows you to download ebooks for offline use only on mobile devices; whereas O'Reilly for Higher Education does not support offline downloading.

2. Install the appropriate software

To be able to download and read an ebook on your device, you, first, need to install the appropriate software.

For ebooks downloaded from Ebook Central and the eBook Collection, this software is an ebook reader called Adobe Digital Editions. It is compatible with Windows PCs and Mac as well as with Android (phone, tablet) and iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch) devices. You may download it free of charge from the Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.11 Installers page or from our Mobile Apps for Library Resources guide, where additional information about it is also available.

For Perlego ebooks the required software is a mobile application called Perlego: Your online library. It is compatible with Android (phone, tablet) and iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch) devices. You may find information about it and download it free of charge through our Mobile Apps for Library Resources guide.

3. Create a personal account on the ebook database

To download an ebook you must have a personal account on the database you wish to download the ebook from. Personal database accounts are created by you and are not related to your ACG network account. Some databases require that you create the account using your institutional email address, so that you are recognized as an authorized user, while some others do not. To avoid confusion and make it easier for you to remember your credentials, we suggest you always use your ACG email and password when you create an account in any ebook database.

If you don't have an account, click one of the buttons below to find out how to create one.

Create an account on Ebook Central

To create a personal account in Ebook Central database, follow the steps below:
  1. Go to Ebook Central .
  2. Click "Sign In" at the top right.
  3. Click "Create Account" at the bottom.
  4. Fill out the form and click "Create Account".

You have now successfully created your Ebook Central database account!

Create an account on eBook Collection

To create a personal account in eBook Collection database, follow the steps below:
  1. Go to the eBook Collection .
  2. Click "myEBSCO" at the top right.
  3. Click "Create an account".
  4. Fill out the form and click "Create account".

You have now successfully created your eBook Collection database account!

Create an account on Perlego

To create a personal account in Perlego database, follow the steps below:
  1. Go to Perlego .
  2. Click "Sign up to read" at the top right.
  3. Enter your institutional email and click "Continue".
  4. Check your email for an invite link (check spam as well).
  5. From the email invite, click the "Access your subscription" button.
  6. Accept Perlego's "Terms and Conditions" and "Privacy Policy" and click "Create your account".
  7. Fill out the form and click "Start reading with Perlego".

You have now successfully created your Perlego database account!

4. Download an ebook

After you have installed an ebook reader and created a personal account in your preferred ebook database, you can start downloading the ebook of your preference. The proceedure for downloading an ebook may differ depending on the database.

Click one of the buttons below to find out how to download an ebook from Ebook Central, the eBook Collection, or Perlego database.

Download ebooks from Ebook Central

To download an ebook from Ebook Central, follow the steps below:
  1. Sign in to your Ebook Central personal account.
  2. Click the download icon Ebook Central download icon from the results page or the Ebook Central download book button button from the ebook's detail page.
  3. A window will pop up asking you to:
    • select what device you are using.
    • confirm that you have already installed the required ebook reader. If you haven't done so already, you may click "Get Adobe Digital Editions" to install it now.
    • select the preferred loan length and download format.
    • download the ebook.
  4. Save the downloaded .acsm file.
  5. Double click on this file to open the ebook directly with Adobe Digital Editions. If it doesn’t open automatically, right-click on the file, click "Open with", and then select the ebook reader.

The ebook is checked out successfully for the selected loan period!

Once the loan period elapses, you will no longer be able to access the ebook in Adobe Digital Editions. If you still need it, you may download it anew.

Download ebooks from eBook Collection

To download an ebook from the eBook Collection, follow the steps below:
  1. Sign in to your eBook Collection personal account.
  2. Click the Ebook Collection download button icon from the ebook's detail page.
  3. A window will pop up giving you the option to download:
    • Chapters only;
    • the Full eBook; or
    • Metadata only.
  4. Select "Full eBook".
  5. Select the download format. The download period is preset to four (4) weeks.
  6. Confirm that you have already installed the required ebook reader. If you haven't done so already, you may click "Adobe Digital Editions" to install it now.
  7. Save the downloaded .acsm file.
  8. Double click on this file to open the ebook directly with Adobe Digital Editions. If it doesn’t open automatically, right-click on the file, click "Open with", and then select the ebook reader.

The ebook is checked out successfully for four (4) weeks!

Once the loan period elapses, you will no longer be able to access the ebook in Adobe Digital Editions. If you still need it, you may download it anew.

Download ebooks from Perlego

To download an ebook from Perlego, follow the steps below:
  1. Download the Perlego mobile app. You may find more information about how to do this in our Mobile Apps for Library Resources guide.
  2. Log in to your Perlego personal account.
  3. Tap your preferred book.
  4. Click the Perlego download button button.

The ebook is checked out successfully and is available in your library. You may find it by clicking the relevant icon Perlego library icon!

You can download up to thirty (30) books at a time. If a book is inactive for thirty (30) days, the download will automatically expire. If you download a book on one device, it won't automatically download onto another.