Steve Spencer, the Theological & Cataloging Librarian here at North Park University, has been working tirelessly to make sure that all NPTS students have access to as much library material as possible. He has recently been working on how to borrow and return downloaded ebooks!
Seminary students may have heard that they should not download ebook commentaries, dictionaries, and encyclopedias from Brandel Library’s online catalog. Downloading an ebook from the Library checks out the ebook, making it inaccessible to others. Vendors have previously said that ebooks cannot be returned early; that is, once checked out, the book remains checked out for the entire period (often 10-14 days, depending on the vendor), even if only used briefly.
That is still the case for some ebooks, for example, from ProQuest: “Downloaded and loaned ebooks expire automatically at the end of a loan and cannot be returned early. Deleting the ebook file from Adobe Digital Editions deletes the ebook file from your device, but does not end the loan.”
EBSCO ebooks, however, can now be returned early (you may recognize them from their databases, including the ATLA Religion Database).
I still strongly recommend that you do NOT download commentaries, dictionaries, and encyclopedias that are widely used by your classmates for assignments. There is no need to download those ebooks. You can read online the portions you need. But if you accidentally download the book, you can return the EBSCO ebooks using the steps below.
Note that many other Brandel Library ebooks, such as academic monographs and fiction, may be downloaded / checked out, just as print books are checked out.
The following information is gratefully borrowed from the Saint Louis University Library website: https://libguides.slu.edu/c.php?g=185818&p=1226008
Steps for Returning a Downloaded/Checked-Out EBook Early – Adobe Digital Editions 2.0
1. Open Adobe Digital Editions
2. Follow these steps or the steps listed on the screen capture below from Adobe Digital Edition 2.0.
- Be sure you are in “Library” view
- Under Bookshelves, select “Borrowed”
- Right click on book to be returned to open drop-down choices and select “Return Borrowed Item”.
- Click “Return” when it appears to confirm that you want to return the ebook.
Steps for Returning a Downloaded/Checked-Out Ebook Early using Adobe Digital Editions 3.0
Follow these steps or the steps listed on the screen capture below from Adobe Digital Editions 3.0.
- Be sure you are in “Library” view
- Under Bookshelves, select “Borrowed”
- Select (highlight) ebook to be returned.
- Right click ebook to be returned to open options menu and select “Return Borrowed Item”.
- Click “Return” when Confirmation Screen appears to confirm that you want to return the ebook.
