Frequently asked questions on e-book offers

Why can e-books published by utb only be read in the browser?

The publisher only offers its e-books with online reading access under HTML5. However, it is possible to download and print up to 30 pages per session.

Why aren’t all textbooks and professional books available as e-book?

Not all books are published as an e-book. Some books won’t be bought as an e-book by the KIM because the goal is to make them available for as many persons as possible. Some e-books are only gettable as a single license that is bound to a specific user account. Additional, the budget of the KIM is limited and therefore we can only buy a selection of e-books. Also e-books are often more expensive for institutions as if they were bought by a private person.

Why can I buy some books as e-books but the library doesn’t have them in its holdings?

Some e-books are not purchased by KIM because the goal is to make them available to as many people as possible in contrast to individual purchases, for which the e-book is linked to a certain account (private person). Because KIM’s budget is limited, we can only purchase a selection of e-books, and some e-books are more expensive for institutions than for private persons.

Why is there not only a single platform to access e-books?

The publishers decide via which platform and in which format they offer access to their e-books. Libraries have only little influence on it.

Why do I have to authenticate myself with VPN?

E-books are licensed by the University. After licensing, the provider activates the content for the computers on the University of Hohenheim network. Then you can usually access the content directly from the computers in the library, the computer room, or a workstation in the institute or administration without signing in.

But when a University member wants to access licensed content from outside of the campus network, the provider doesn’t know that you belong to the University of Hohenheim and refuses access. With the VPN client, you authenticate yourself as a member of the University of Hohenheim, that is, when you log in with your Hohenheim user account, your computer receives a University IP address. Re-start the internet browser after connecting with VPN. The publisher then recognizes the Hohenheim IP address and grants access.

Access from off campus is only available to University members for legal license reasons. All other users can only access the content on the research computers in the Central and Departmental Library.

Are there alternatives to VPN?

Another possibility for accessing e-books from outside the campus network is logging in with Shibboleth (signing in via a website). For some providers, you will be sent to the sign-in screen automatically, while in other cases, you first need to choose your country from a pull-down menu (or for Germany the “DFN-AAI”) and select the University of Hohenheim. Then you can log in with your library account number and corresponding password. However, not all publishers currently offer access via Shibboleth.
More information on Shibboleth can be found here

Access to e-books from off campus is only possible for University of Hohenheim members for legal license reasons. All other users can only access the content on the research computers in the Central and Departmental Library.

Who can I ask if I can´t manage to get access?

Please contact the reference counter of the library:

• On site
  Central Library: Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm

• Via E-Mail
  kim-bib@uni-hohenheim.de

• Via Phone
  0711/ 459-22096

Why can I find e-books on Springer-Link I don´t have access to?

Springer-Link is a platform that offers access, sorted by subject to all e-books published by Springer. E-Books we have licensed via Springer can be found via our library search engine HohSearch. Alternatively, you can remove the check mark from “Include Preview-Only content” that is located below the advanced search. Now you will only receive results you have full access to.

Wouldn’t it be possible to license everything from Springer?

Due to financial reasons we only license individual subject packages (compilation of several e-books from a subject area). Selected single e-books are not licensed via Springer-Link but Ebrary.

Why are there so many different terms of use (download, print etc.) within the e-books?

Publishers determine their own terms of use and decide how many pages the user could download or print. Libraries have only little influence on it.

Why aren’t there any e-books available in the Epub-format?

The Epub format is used for e-book readers and allows the text to dynamically adjust to the screen size. Due to this the pagebreaks are variable and there are no numbered pages so the document can´t be cited properly. It is also difficult to display tables, graphics and formulas.

I´m connected via VPN but I still don´t have access

That can have various reasons: when accessing media through a VPN client, it is important that you follow the steps in the right order: first connect through the VPN client, then start the internet browser. It is also possible that you are trying to access an e-book that the University has not licensed. To check whether we have a license for the e-book, look in HohSearch. Almost all licensed e-books are listed there.