Together with its partner, the Ebook Library (EBL), the SLUB Dresden provides its users with access to more than 200,000 e-books. A large collection of e-book titles currently available from publishing houses and wholesale dealers is available online for users; the library only pays for the ones that are actually used. By clicking the “Resource Link” listed for a book which is available in the Ebook Library, you will first be taken to a log-in page, then to the Ebook Library Portal (EBL).
The prices listed in the Ebook Library Portal (EBL) are paid by the SLUB Dresden. This service is provided free for our users.
You can use the e-book for an unlimited period of time. The Ebook Library Portal will display a loan period for the item, which is usually 7 days. However, at the end of the loan period, you can simply renew the item and continue using it.
You may view or download a maximum of 5 e-books per day. E-books that you have viewed for less than 5 minutes are not counted. The reason for this restriction is that the SLUB Dresden is charged for each e-book its users view.
Publishing houses and wholesale book dealers determine which books will be made available as e-books. The SLUB Dresden has subscribed to an entire package, which is regularly updated. This may mean that a book you are looking for might be added to or taken from the program at any time.
If you try to view or download more than five e-books per day, the Ebook Library Portal will remind you of the restriction and recommend you ask your library (SLUB Dresden) for permission to use the additional items. In exceptional cases, users can use the online form to explain the need to exceed the limit for e-books.
For especially costly titles, the SLUB Dresden librarians will decide whether the book will be made available to its users via the Ebook Library. Such items are indicated with a brown “Request Loan” link located in the left margin.
Please click on this link and fill out the form. You will receive an e-mail detailing whether or not your request has been approved.
No, this is not possible due to international copyright laws. A maximum of 20% of the total number of pages may be printed, and no more than 5% may be copied. A running total of how many pages you may still print and/or copy is displayed for each e-book.
Yes, you may access the Ebook Library via the SLUB catalog from any device with an Internet connection. After clicking on the “Resource Link”, you will be asked to log in to your SLUB user account.
Please be sure to pay attention to the year of publication listed for the item. This is detailed in the search results on the catalogue page, or in the Ebook Library Portal. For e-books, the date of publication usually refers to the year when the electronic edition was created. This can, of course, differ greatly from the publication date of the original item. Please pay special attention to this when citing these sources.
Due to copyright laws, the use of e-books is restricted and corresponds to the rules that apply to online use (reading): 20% of the total number of pages may be printed, and 5% may be copied. To ensure compliance with these regulations, you will need the free software Adobe Digital Editions to display the e-books you’ve downloaded. This software uses a “digital rights management” (DRM) to protect the content. At the SLUB Dresden Internet workstations, you will only be able to read the e-books online.
We recommend downloading e-books only in cases where the e-books will be read later, such as when an Internet connection is not available (i.e. with a laptop computer in the train).
When you install Adobe Digital Editions, you will be requested to register as a user. If you do this, you will be allowed to view and use your e-books on various devices. Otherwise, the digital rights management protection will prohibit the copying of e-book content from one device to another.
Adobe provides various software applications for mobile reading devices, such as E-book Readers and smart phones.
The free app “Bluefire Reader” can be installed for use on Android /iOS devices (iPhone, iPad).
A list of all compatible devices can be found here: Adobe – Digital Editions Supported Devices.