Research Guides: eBooks: Home

Search the Library Catalog for eBooks

eBooks are digital books, some of which you read on the Web, and some which are available for download either to your computer or to e-readers such as a Kindle. Most of these collections are subscribed to by CSULB, so you will need a CSULB ID to use them. Some are free to the public.

All CSULB ebooks can be found in OneSearch.

OneSearch (library catalog)

Some eBook collections

ACLS Humanities E-Book Project This link opens in a new window Is a digital collection of over 1,700 full text searchable e-books of recommended by humanities scholars.
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Skillsoft This link opens in a new window Also includes IT and Desktop Video collection. Full text of IT books on hundreds of different technology topics. Includes books from premier industry publishers, such as Wrox, McGraw-Hill, and Microsoft Press as well as popular book series, such as The Complete Reference, Inside Out, and Bibles. Allows up to 6 simultaneous users. Formerly called Books 24/7.
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Ebook Central (from ProQuest) This link opens in a new window More than 80,000 academic e-books in 16 subject categories (Formerly called eBrary)
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eBook Collection from EBSCO This link opens in a new window Full-text, searchable electronic books. Books can only be read online. However, mindful of copyright laws, texts may be printed out or copied in part using browser functions. Coverage: Most books are pre-2003. Also provides access to 3,500 older, "public domain" works that may be several hundred years old.
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Gale eBooks Reference Library This link opens in a new window A collection of about 900 encyclopedias and other reference books from several publishers across many disciplines that can be searched at one time.
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Knovel (Engineering eBook Collection) This link opens in a new window Full-text access, including interactive tables and graphs to engineering handbooks in: aerospace and radar technology, biochemistry, biology and biotechnology, chemistry and chemical engineering, civil engineering and construction materials, environmental engineering, food science, general engineering, mechanics and mechanical engineering, regulatory information, safety and industrial hygiene and sustainable energy. 
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Libby (previously Overdrive) This link opens in a new window Popular ebooks and audiobooks that you can read and listen to through the Libby app on your personal device.
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Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window More than 2 million entries from hundreds of cross-searchable Oxford encyclopedias and other reference books, many of which are illustrated.
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O'Reilly Learning This link opens in a new window Over 2000 e-books from O' Reilly, Que, Sams, Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall and Peachpit Press covering computing, databases, operating systems, programming, XML, Java and web design, as well as a broad range of business topics. Covers: Current year plus two previous calendar years.
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O’Reilly Sign in Instructions

Access the O’Reilly Learning site one of two ways:

Through the Database A-Z List
Through a OneSearch record for a specific title.

When prompted, sign-in through our authentication system using your BeachID and password.

After authenticating, you will be directed to the O’Reilly site where a pop-up box will appear. Select Institution not listed?, located below the drop-down menu.

The pop-up box will change to a new screen that prompts new users to enter their academic email and existing users to sign in.

New Users
Enter your CSULB email in the box that says Your academic email to register for a new account. O’Reilly will grant you access to their site and will send a follow up email to complete the registration process.

Existing users
Select the Already a user? option below the pop-up box to be directed to the sign in screen.

***Note: your O’Reilly account login details may not be the same as your Beach ID login/password. It depends on what you entered when originally creating the account.*** Try using the “Forgot Password” option if you already have an account, but are unable to sign in.
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae This link opens in a new window Digital library of Greek literature, digitizing texts from Homer to Byzantium's fall in AD 1453. Aims to be a complete digital collection of Greek literature from antiquity to present.
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*Individual registration required*

Free Books Online

Many of the free books online are public domain, including titles published before 1923 and U.S. government documents.

HathiTrust
Access to over 2 million volumes in the public domain.
Limit to "Full view" only.
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Limit to "Full view only" to search for books available with full-text online.

HathiTrust is an effort by major universities to digitize and preserve library materials and the cultural record.
Online Books Page
Links to over 1 million titles available freely online.
Project Gutenburg
Full-text of over 33,000 books in the public domain.
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Free from copyright restrictions, includes mostly works published prior to 1923.
Google Books
On the search results screen, limit to "free Google eBooks."
Bartleby.com
Literature, reference, verse, and more
Directory of Open Access Books
Includes books worldwide from university presses, scholarly publishers.

eBooks

DRM

Critics' Choice and Children's Collections

Search the Library Catalog for eBooks

Some eBook collections

Free Books Online