What happens after you've filled out the 'Request a purchase' form?

As soon as we receive the purchase form, we check if the requested book is already available as an eBook or as a hard copy and, we look up the price. You might not know that book prices, especially for eBooks, are often much higher for libraries than they are for individual customers. When the book is related to a WUR education or research field, we’ll probably buy the electronic version of the book. However, if the book is extremely expensive, we’ll discuss if we need to purchase the book with the person who requested the purchase.

eBooks in the library collection

We receive many questions about eBooks. Why can’t I download the complete pdf? Why can’t all students immediately open the eBook? Why is the access restricted to one user?

Publishers

Publishers all have their own policies regarding eBooks. We always prefer to buy a book directly from the publisher because the book can be easily accessed on the publisher’s website. For example, have a look at the recent eBooks from the publishers Springer and Taylor & Francis.

• Springer eBooks from 2019 and 2020: When you use the button ‘View eBook’, you’ll see that you can download the full book as a pdf or as an ePub for an eReader or you can select one or more bookchapters.
• Taylor & Francis eBooks from 2019 -2020: At the Taylor & Francis website it’s more or less the same. But Taylor & Francis does not offer ePubs.

Ebscohost, Proquest and other eBook platforms

When we can’t buy an eBook directly from a publisher, we use eBook platforms like Ebscohost or Proquest. An eBook platform offers a collection of eBooks that a library has bought. In most cases, regulations on those platforms are very strict. For example, only one user has access to a book at a time, so others have to wait. Sometimes it’s three users and sometimes the number of users is unlimited. When you want to offer access to more users at once, the access price goes up accordingly.

Limited usage rights

In addition to the number of users, the usage rights are important. Usage rights depend on the Digital Rights Management (DRM) that publishers use. DRM prevents unauthorized redistribution of digital media. Publishers set many rules for limited usage. Some publishers don't allow you to download a publication, but you can read it in the online viewer. In other cases, you can download 10, 50 or 100 pages. These rights depend on the contracts with the publisher.

At the Ebscohost platform you can find the usage information behind the title information.

We'll always let you know what the options are for the books you need for your research or for lectures.