E-books, and Audio Book downloads
Welcome to Rutland Library Service's ebooks and dowloadable resources. E-books are available to members 24 hours a day, and can be accessed from home. Just click on the links below to access the service. Please note that our OneClick Digital Audio Download service and BYKI language learning service are no longer available.
eBook Service
eBooks can be borrowed by any member of Rutland Library Service - just ask staff for a PIN number to go with your library card. No account registration required.
Main features
- The service is completely Free to use.
- Download up to three eBooks for up to 21 days.
- Choose from a range of titles for both children and adults.
- No overdue charges - eBooks automatically expire at the end of loan period.
- Free reservations for titles already out on loan - the same as with our hard copy books.
- New titles are regularly added to the collection.
- Download direct to your home computer, Apple Mac, iPhone, ipad, ipod, Android devices and eBook Readers such as Kobo, Sony iSlate. Our eBook Service is not compatible with Amazon Kindle due to Amazon's policy.
- Using your library card and PIN you will login into a secure eBook website to select and download eBooks. This service will only be available from your home PC. It will not be available in your local library.
How long can I borrow for?
eBooks can be borrowed for any number of days between one and 21 days.
- Loans automatically expire at the end of the loan period.
- eBooks cannot be returned early or renewed.
How do I access the service?
- Log on to the eBooks download site.
- Log in with a valid library card number and PIN.
- The ebooks are housed on and downloaded from an external secure website operated by our book supplier.
- eBooks cannot be downloaded from library computers due to downloading restrictions.
Technical details & compatible devices
Library staff cannot advise customers on technical aspects of the eBook Service, such as downloading to eBook devices.
For more information on downloading see the FAQs and compatible devices information
Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) is required for eBook downloading.
A free download of Adobe Digital Editions is available from Adobe.
Free e-books available online
There are a number of websites online providing free access to e-books. Many of these have been digitised by volunteers, and from out-of-copyright works. The following are a small selection of sites offering access to free electronic texts (Users are responsible for viewing and abiding by copyright limitations):
Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts - A mix of public domain and open access documents focused on American literature, English literature, and Western philosophy.
Bartleby - an extensive collection of Reference, Verse, Fiction and Non-fiction.
BBC - Dr Who - BBC site making available eight 'rare and acclaimed' Dr Who novels. Some have to be read online rather than downloaded.
The Bible Gateway - over 100 Bible versions in 54 languages. Most in html/text only, with some PDF and audio files.
Bookboon - online publisher of free e-books and online textbooks. All available in PDF. Textbooks cover engineering, information technology, economy and finance.
Bookyards - Over 32,000 PDf books. Categories include: Art, Biography, Fiction, War & Military. Some titles in French, german and Spanish.
British Library: Turning the Pages - Access to facsimiles of a number of antiquarian books from the British Library Collection. Uses Admobe Shockwave, which can be downloaded free of charge. Books include the Lindisfarne Gospels and Jane Austen's handwritten History of England.
Cliffs Notes - Study guides for literature.
FreeBooks4Doctors - 365 medical books sorted by topic (e.g. oncology, dermatology)
Free-ebooks.net - Free access to e-books in 45 categories, viewable online. Can be browsed by category or author. Membership required for downloading.
FreeTechBooks - computer science and programming books, textbooks and lecture notes.
Google eBooks - access to around 3 million free e-books and further paid-for titles.
Project Gutenberg - over 33,000 titles from the oldest e-book archive.
Openlibrary ebook borrowing service - Free ebooks to borrow online
Universal Digital Library - Million Book Collection.
Further sites offering more specialised texts can be found in "The 2011 Guide to Free or Nearly-Free e-Books" by Chris Armstrong - available to borrow on the library catalogue.
