Ebook FAQ for VCU Libraries

Licensing Overview

• User Licenses: Unlimited.
• Subscription or Permanent Access? All ebooks on these platforms are subscription-based, so titles may come and go, although the removal of titles does not happen often. See the "Title List" section below for more details. 
• DRM-free? No. This platform has viewing, printing, or downloading restrictions, and/or it requires a vendor login.

List of all Ebook Titles in This Collection

Below are title lists for each resource:

• AccessPharmacy ebook list
• AccessPhysiotherapy ebook list

How often are titles added or removed? There is no set schedule. Our McGraw-Hill sales rep stated that "Books are rarely removed completely. The only case might be if a book becomes outdated and there are no plans to publish a new edition" [Nov. 22, 2019 email to Karen Gau]. Previous editions remain on the Books tab for up to six months after a new edition is published, but will eventually go into McGraw-Hill's Archives page. Edition updates are generally made in January and July.

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

A VPAT for McGraw-Hill Medicine is available on their website, and applies to all of the clinical Access products.

YES, with some reservations. Because AccessPharmacy and AccessPhysiotherapy ebooks offer access to an unlimited number of users, they can be used for required course materials. Please note, however, that although it doesn't happen often, titles can be removed from our subscription. If you are an instructor and an ebook you were using on either of these platforms has since disappeared, contact AskHSL@vcu.edu to see if temporary access can be granted.

Note that the "Case Files - Preview" section of each database only includes a select number of Case Files. Although it shouldn't happen often, the case files currently included in our Access products could be removed at any time. VCU Libraries does not currently subscribe to the full Case Files resource.

More information on using library resources in your classroom is available in our Library Ebooks as Course Materials research guide.

Entire Ebook Download: Not available.

Chapter Downloads: Book chapters can be downloaded by printing them to PDF.

1. Navigate to the book chapter.
2. Click on the print button, which is located under the name of the chapter.
3. Save as PDF.
   • Chrome: Select "Save as PDF" under the Destination option.
   • Safari: Click "PDF" at the bottom of the dialog. [Untested.]
   • Firefox: Currently not recommended (7/30/20). "Microsoft Print to PDF" under Select Printer may not print the chapter as expected.

The best ebook link to provide library users is the Primo (library website) permalink. Finding a permalink that includes "alma" (rather than "cdi") in the last part of the URL is your best bet, since those records are more likely to be stable.

If you require a direct link to the ebook, however, you can follow either of the instructions below to provide library users with links that should work on and off campus. Please be aware that if the publisher changes their ebook URLs that the links you generate below may stop working.

On campus
If you are creating this link on campus, use the following instructions to generate a URL that will allow your on- and off-campus users to access this ebook.

1. Copy the book or book chapter's URL directly from the browser's address bar
2. Add VCU Libraries's proxy address to the front ( http://proxy.library.vcu.edu/login?url= ).
   • Sample URL: http://proxy.library.vcu.edu/login?url=https://accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/book.aspx?bookid=2577

Off campus
If you are creating this link off campus, use the following instructions to generate a URL that will allow your on- and off-campus users to access this ebook.

• Copy the URL directly from your browser's address bar for your book or book chapter. It should include "VCU" in the URL somewhere.
  • Sample URL: https://accesspharmacy-mhmedical-com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/book.aspx?bookid=2577

Books can be individually searched from their Table of Contents page.