The University at Buffalo Libraries subscribe to or own outright many downloadable e-resources.   All can be read on a computer, using browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari and most can be downloaded to a diversity of electronic devices, including dedicated e-readers such as the iPad, Nook, Kindle, or Kobo as well as Apple, Android or Microsoft devices. 

The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (BECPL) provides access to the digital version of many popular and general interest books through its  Overdrive subscription.  Here you’ll find titles in several formats that will load onto iPads, Kindles, Nooks, and other devices. Associated instructional materials are excellent and applicable, in many respects, to what follows. You’ll need a BECPL Library Card to take advantage of this service. Learn about downloading resources on Overdrive. The most flexible reading devices are tablets, since they generally allow the reading of material by rival companies with the appropriate app installed. See Reading E-Texts on Your Personal Computer and More toward the end of this page.

Putting E-Texts on a Device

The basics: For digitized material not protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM), you can save the resource to your preferred device and use the resource for as long as you need.  In the case of material protected by copyright or DRM, you’ll need Adobe Digital Editions on your computer. Register for an Adobe password and ID to enable portability or transferability. You’ll need the ID to authorize the device to which you’re moving the file. This specifically pertains to books provided by ProQuest Ebook Central and EBSCOhost Ebooks. Detailed download instructions for those collections are available at the University at Buffalo Libraries’ ProQuest Ebook Central and EBSCOhost Ebooks pages. Finally, read the manual for your device, which should provide detailed information on it’s capabilities.

To convert the format of books that are not protected by DRM from one format to another (for instance from .epub to .pdf), use programs such as Calibre. This conversion, for instance, might be appropriate for Kindle users, since a Kindle will accept .mobi or .pdf but not .epub files.

From the UB Libraries You’ll Most Likely be Downloading PDFs

Since most of the Library supplied e-texts you can download to a computer or other device are in PDF format, some specific comments on this format will be useful.

PDF is an acronym for Portable Document Format. The PDF file format is created by Adobe Systems, Inc. Regardless of what kind of computer one is using -- and regardless of the software package used to create it -- a PDF file/document will always look the same. There are two kinds of PDFs: Native and Scanned. Native PDFs are created from an electronic source such as a word processor document. Because the software used to make the PDF captures character information and word placement, these PDFs are searchable.  Scanned PDFs capture the image of the physical document – they’re a picture. They cannot be searched. And they can only be made larger by displaying them on a larger screen, viewing them in landscape (try this with JSTOR articles) or using a magnifying glass option -- if it is available. Kindles are equipped with a Native PDF reader as are other e-readers; but they can also display Scanned PDFs. PDFs can have DRM attached which restricts and regulates their use. This is the case with ProQuest Ebook Central and EBSCOhost Ebooks books which must be downloaded using Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) and made portable and transferrable with an Adobe ID.

For Kindle users: If your Kindle’s Native PDF capability does not seem to be doing the job, you can convert a text based or Native PDF to .azw format which will enable you to use the Kindle's various features (e.g. text magnification). Email the PDF file to your free Kindle email address. See this Amazon documentation for specific instructions.

E-Books Protected with DRM

Much of the material the Libraries provide access to does not have Digital Rights Management (DRM) associated with it; but some does, specifically books provided through ProQuest Ebook Central and EBSCOhost Ebooks. DRM is implemented through software that controls access to copyrighted material. When material is protected by DRM, control is in the hands of vendors, authors, or publishers. When a document is protected by DRM, viewing, listening, cut/paste or printing are either blocked or regulated.  For instance, a Kindle book will not display on another manufacturer’s device (unless a Kindle app can be loaded) because the .mobi format has been changed to .azw, the extension for Amazon ebooks, by adding DRM to .mobi. It is illegal to convert .azw files to another format because this would require removing DRM. Texts not so protected can be legally converted to whatever format is needed for use on a specific device. As noted above, a popular and well-known converter is Calibre.

Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) and Reading PDFs

Adobe Digital Editions works with Adobe DRM and is available for free download.  ADE also supports EPUB texts.  ADE is a good reader and you may wish to use it as the repository and preferred reading platform for all your PDFs, from books to magazine and journal articles. After installing ADE on your computer you will be prompted to activate it. While activating, you have the option to authorize your computer with an Adobe ID. You’ll need the ID to transfer content between devices, for instance, from your computer to an iPad. Go to Adobe for help on creating an account.  Simply reading on your computer using ADE does not require an activated ADE account; but you’ll need one to transfer ProQuest Ebook Central and EBSCOhost Ebooks books – which are protected by DRM -- to an e-reader or other computer or device.

Selected Free and Libraries Funded “E-Book” Collections

Google Books, HathiTrust Digital Library, and Project Gutenberg are the largest collections of free and downloadable e- books, all with PDF options and some as EPUB. The free portion of this enormous corpus is generally comprised of material published before 1923. For instance, if you love the 19th century, these resources, regardless of discipline, put most of the period at your fingertips. Texts free of DRM may be loaded on any number of devices without restrictions. For guidance on format compatibility (.pdf, .epub, .html, etc.) with various devices, see the Ebook Collections tab. For specific download instructions for each resource, click on the hyperlinked title of each resource in that guide.

Reading E-Texts on Your Personal Computer and More

These programs, some made by Adobe Digital Systems, Inc. and others by the major e-reader manufacturers, enable one to download, save, highlight, and take notes. The Adobe products will work with any PDF file and Adobe Digital Editions must be used to download a book protected with Adobe DRM. There are many apps that will allow you to read material on a spectrum of personal devices, consult the manual for your device or e-book supplier. All of these programs will work with a variety of free material and may be downloaded, even if you never purchase a book or device from the associated company. For tablets: with the appropriate app installed, even on a Kindle Fire, you can read the books of rival suppliers. 

You can see more about e-readers at this PC Magazine site or through your favorite search engine. 

Popular E-Reading Devices and Downloading E-Books

Always check your device’s manual for format compatibility; although you may also visit the pertinent Wikipedia entries. See entries focusing on e-book reader comparisons and comparison of e-book formats.

Amazon Kindle: Kindles do not work with Adobe DRM. They cannot display PDFs with DRM or EPUB files.

Apple Devices: Download Adobe DRM protected e-books using the Bluefire Reader app. Install this app on your device and authorize the app with your Adobe ID. This will allow you to directly download any DRM protected text to your iPhone or iPad.  Assuming the Bluefire app is on the device, the book will be automatically downloaded.  The intermediate step of downloading to your computer using Adobe Digital Editions is not necessary.

Barnes & Noble Nooks: PDF and EPUB files may be viewed.  Use Adobe Digital Editions to transfer texts from your computer to the device.  ADE will prompt you to authorize the device.