River Campus Libraries provides access to over one million e-books covering a large variety of disciplines and publishers. Because our e-books are available through different databases and websites, the easiest way to find an e-book in UR’s collection is to start on the library's homepage and choose "Library Catalog Only" from the dropdown box.

To narrow your search to e-books, choose the Available online and Books filters from the options on the left-hand side of your results...or use the search box below:

The library also has several collections of e-books that are worth searching in for your topic. While books in these collections are pulled into all of our catalog searches, relevant titles can sometimes get buried within thousands of results. Try searching these databases directly for e-books on your topic:

• ACLS Humanities E-Book
  Also known as the ACLS History Ebook Project, this humanities-focused e-book collection includes nearly 5,400 scholarly titles.
• JSTOR Books
  In addition to the ebooks U of R purchases through JSTOR, this database provides access to more than 6,000 open access ebooks from leading publishers including some content exclusive to JSTOR.
• Ebook Central
  Ebook Central is U of R's primary e-book platform with thousands of titles from all disciplines. Many of these titles can be found through the library's main search page, but searching Ebook Central directly is a great way to make sure you don't miss e-book titles relevant to your topic.
• EBSCOHost eBook Collections
  Like Ebook Central, EBSCO provides access to a collection of e-books on a wide range of topics. This collection of e-books isn't quite as extensive as Ebook Central, but you still may find some useful books on your topic in this database.

What is interlibrary loan?

Interlibray loan is a free service that allows faculty, students, and staff to get access to items that are not part of the University of Rochester's library subscriptions or collection. When you request an item through interlibrary loan (ILL), our ILL staff will find another library (worldwide!) that has access to the item and have a copy sent to UR's library for you to borrow free of charge. Books are typically mailed to the library, but articles and other shorter-form resources are usually sent as PDFs for you that you can access from anywhere. Turnaround time on this service varies, so you will want to plan ahead when working on research assignments.

How to place an interlibrary loan request:

This video will walk you through the process of requesting an item using interlibrary loan: https://youtu.be/ohr_94ghehE. Or, follow the directions below!

1. To request an electronic resource via ILL, visit https://illiad.lib.rochester.edu and click on the yellow "Login" button.
2. The first time you log in, you will need to register and select River Campus as your pick-up location.
   Note: You will need to select River Campus as your location even if you are not currently on-campus.
3. Once logged in, you will see a menu on the left-hand side of your screen. Under "New Request," click on the item type you are requesting. Please provide as much information as possible.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Lara Nicosia, the librarian for History and Religion and Classics...she is happy to help!

All current students, faculty, and staff can access the River Campus Libraries’ electronic resources off-campus – all you need is an active NetID and password.

Accessing Materials through the Library’s Website (EZproxy)

All of the links to subscription resources on the library’s website and this guide contain a URL prefix that enables you to access materials off-site – so start your research on the library’s website!  Read more…

Accessing Materials using VPN

VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a tool that you can use to access the library's online resources while off-campus. When you use VPN you are able to securely connect to the university's network and are assigned a temporary IP address affiliated with the university. In order to use VPN you will need to install a VPN client and login using Duo Two-Factor Authentication.

• Remote Access (VPN) from University IT
• Two-factor Authentication (Duo) from University IT

The River Campus librarians are happy to help! All of our liaison librarians can work with you over chat or email...or, you can schedule an appointment to meet in-person or over Zoom.

Lara Nicosia is the librarian for African and African American Studies, American Sign Language, History, and Religion and Classics. She is happy to help you get started with your research or answer any questions you have about the library and its services. Use the options below to contact Lara or you can chat with the on-call librarian.

Need help with a different topic or subject-area? Click below to find the outreach librarian for your class or program (or reach out to Lara and she'll point you in the right direction!).