The Library Research Help Team
We want to help you find low- and no-cost readings for your students! The UMass Lowell Library offers students, staff, and faculty thousands of full text ebooks. Most are available for unlimited use by the campus community.
A few definitions are helpful:
How does this actually work? You may have a set list of readings and a textbook you already know you want to use. Contact us because:
Finally, if you are interested in replacing your current textbook with either a new, open and freely available OER textbook, or a textbook the library can purchase:
When you are putting your course reading lists together using library materials, you may want to know about some specific terms.
1. Under the Catalog tab, enter the title, keywords or subject for the book you are looking for.
2. Filter the results in the left hand column of the results page.
Under Held by Library click "UMass Lowell Libraries".
Under Format click "eBook".
3. To determine whether an ebook permits unlimited users, click the blue "Access online" OR "View Ebook" button. This will take you to either the vendor's platform or to a flyout menu listing platforms where the title may be found. While useful for temporary access, please note that The Internet Archive is not guaranteed permanent access for a classroom textbook.
On the Proquest platform, library access to the ebook is described directly beneath the title, as here:
On the EBSCO platform, library access is described to the left of the title, as here:
If the library owns limited copies, the landing page looks like the screenshot below.