Ebook FAQ for VCU Libraries

Licensing Overview

• User Licenses: Unlimited PDF downloads.
• Subscription or Permanent Access? We permanently own all ScienceDirect ebooks.
• DRM-free? Yes. None of the titles in this collection have viewing, printing, or downloading restrictions, nor do they require a vendor login.

List of all Ebook Titles in This Collection

A full ScienceDirect title list can be downloaded via a VCU Libraries administrator account.

• How often are titles added? Titles are added/purchased upon request by the collection development librarians.
• How often are titles removed? N/A. All ScienceDirect titles are a permanent part of VCU Libraries' collection.

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

Download ScienceDirect's latest VPAT at https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/sciencedirect/support/web-accessibility.

YES. ScienceDirect ebooks are recommended for use as required and recommended course materials.

More information on this topic is available at our Library Ebooks as Course Materials research guide.

Entire Ebook Download: Yes. From the Table of Contents page, click on "Select all" on the left-hand side, and then click on "Download PDFs".

Chapter Downloads: Yes. There are a couple ways to download ScienceDirect ebook chapters.

From the Table of Contents page, select the chapter(s) you need to download, and click on "Download PDFs" on the left-hand side.

Alternatively, if you're already viewing a chapter, you can click on the "Download PDF" link above your chapter contents.

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=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123851031

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://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/book/9780123851031/laboratory-animal-welfare

• Because ScienceDirect ebooks and ebook chapters are downloadable as PDFs, you can use your favorite PDF reader to highlight text, add notes, etc.