eBooks
Wintec Library has thousands of eBooks in its library that are free for you to borrow.
This section explains what eBooks are, how to access and use them, and answers any questions you might have.
It also has a fun, interactive tutorial to help you feel confident about using them.
What is an eBook?
Most eBooks are exactly the same as a print, but in digital form. Page for page they tend to be identical.
Imagine someone has scanned all the pages of a print book and saved them into a digital document, like Word or a PDF. eBooks are pretty much the same as this EXCEPT they have more functionality, which you will learn about later.
This short video is an excellent introduction to the world of the Wintec eBooks collections:
Wintec eBook collections
Wintec has a mix of platforms and databases that may solely house eBooks, or have a variety of source types including eBooks. Some platforms/databases are subject-specific and some are for general research:
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Proquest Ebook Central is selection of thousands of eBooks from the world's leading publishers covering all academic subject areas, including business, computing, education, medicine, science and social science. |
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EBSCO eBook Collection is a collection of full text eBooks covering a wide range of subjects. |
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Bridget Williams Books is the online home for Treaty scholarship. Access award-winning books anywhere, anytime and on any device. |
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ClinicalKey Student is a multi-purpose medical learning environment that enables students to Assess, Review and Study to build knowledge, confidence and skills in a single experience. ClinicalKey Student is part of the ClinicalKey family, which enables seamless access from day 1 at medical school, through residency and into clinical practice. |
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Haynes Manuals AllAccess is a library of manuals covering a vast range of car and motorcycle makes and models, with up-to-date content including common repairs, routine maintenance and servicing procedures. Wintec Library is now able to offer free access to hundreds of online car and motorcycle manuals through its subscription to Haynes AllAccess Manuals. |
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Focusing on business and technology, O’Reilly for Higher Education provides access to over 35,000 eBooks, over 30,000 hours of video and more. By following Learning Paths, you can learn new skills such as programming languages and discover new interests, while Case Studies demonstrate how others did it at well-known companies such as Facebook. Mobile app is not available. |
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LWW Health Library: Exercise Science is a database of eBooks on sports and exercise science ideal for students of Sport Science and Human Performance and Physiotherapy. Includes ACSM’s Certification Suite. |
eBook FAQs
Q: Are eBooks free to use?
A: Yes they are. You do not pay anything to borrow Wintec's eBooks.
Q: Can I use my eReader device to read them on?
A: No you can't, unfortunately. Our eBooks have to be accessed through an Internet browser like Chrome or Safari or Microsoft Edge.
Q: What's the advantage of using eBooks over print books?
A: The main advantage is access. You don't need to visit the library to borrow an eBook - you just need an Internet connection. And most of our eBooks have multi-user access, so even if someone else is borrowing the eBook you want, you can still get access to it.
One of the other advantages is that they're easy to navigate. Most have hyperlinked contents, so you can easily jump between sections, as well as a search function where you can type in your keywords. You can then click on the pages that feature your keywords to see if the information is relevant to your research.
Q: How do I find eBooks in the Wintec Library?
A: By using the Catalogue. The Catalogue searches databases that have eBooks, as well as searching for eBooks that we have specifically purchased. To learn how to use the Catalogue, see here.
Q: Can I download Wintec eBooks?
A: No, you can't download entire eBooks, but some eBook databases will allow you to download chapters.
Q: Why aren't all the print books in the library also available as eBooks?
A: We try to ensure we have eBook and print book versions of popular titles. However, some print books aren't available as eBooks, and eBooks can be very expensive to buy, so we don't automatically buy digital versions of every book.
Q: Can I save an eBook?
A: Yes you can. Most eBook databases allow you to save books after you've either logged in with your Wintec account, or registered a free account with the database. Your eBook is saved to your account, but is not downloadable.
Q: Where do Wintec's eBooks come from?
A: They come from the databases we subscribe to, like Proquest eBook Central, ClinicalKey Student, and Bridget Williams Books. OneSearch searches across all our eBook databases for you, so you don't have to visit each one individually. To learn how to use OneSearch, see here.
Q: How do I reference an eBook?
A: Our APA Guide will show you how.
Using eBooks interactive tutorial
Complete the tutorial to learn tips and tricks for using Wintec eBooks. The module will teach you how to access our eBooks and how to use the features of each eBook platform to get the most out of their use.
Free eBook websites
British Library Online Gallery - Turning the Pages software enables you to view selected books and manuscripts held by the British Library.
Early New Zealand Books (NZ) - This has been developed by staff at The University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services. The collection aims to provide a complete online full-text and keyword-searchable corpus of books about New Zealand published in the first two-thirds of the nineteenth century.
Google Book Search - Search the full text of books to find ones that interest you. Selected viewing of pages is available for copyrighted material. Public domain or copyright free material is available in fulltext.
Manybooks.net - Free eBooks for your PDA (or iPod).
NZETC (New Zealand Electronic Texts) (NZ) - The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection is made up of significant New Zealand and Pacific Island texts and materials held by Victoria University of Wellington Library.
Project Gutenberg - Project Gutenberg offers over 53,000 free ebooks: choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online.
