How do I access digital resources?
You can access digital resources and ebooks via one of these ECU access portals:
As most of the content we hold are subscribed or purchased content, they need to know you have permission from ECU. We do this in two ways:
Location
If you are working from an ECU campus using Eduroam, or using the ECU VPN, some digital resource services such as academic databases will recognise where you are and give you permission to access their content.
Identifying that you are logging in from an ECU account
You may notice some of the links that you access have "..ezproxy.ecu.edu.au" in the URL.
If you are not already logged in these links will take you to the Federated Login page and request that you log in with your ECU account:
All digital resources should be accessed through the ECU network where possible so that the platform can identify that you do have access through the ECU Library.
Resource restrictions: Digital vs. physical
Digital resources in the library work the same as if you were to borrow physical item, except that there is no longer a restriction on your location or the opening hours of the library. All our digital resources are available through the library catalogue or via our various databases.
Comparing physical resources to digital resources:
| Physical Resources | Digital Resources | |
| When can I access it? | During library opening hours | 24/7 |
| Where can I borrow the book/article from? | ECU Campuses (Hold requests needed for items at a different campus) | Access via the ECU Library Search anywhere with an internet connection. |
| Loan Time | 4 weeks |
Full book loan: 1-unlimited days* Chapter print/DRM free** download: Indefinite |
| How many people can borrow a book at one time? | 1 person per copy | 1 person per copy*** |
| How many copies can the library hold? | Limited to a few copies due to shelf space | 1 - unlimited copies. |
* Loan duration depends on the book. See Reading and Downloading ebooks for more detail.
** See Copyright and Licences to find out more about DRM and how ebook restrictions work.
*** This includes when someone is reading the book online or are in the process of downloading the title.
User accounts and registrations
Digital resources are located on different platforms depending on who owns, publishes, or hosts it. Each platform has their own way of interacting with its users including a personal account to that service.
This account is separate from your ECU log in. Your ECU log in is just to let them know where you are from. The personal account will allow you to use content such as:
- Personal reading list or saved items
- Notes and highlighting via the platform's ebook reader
- Notifications for new publications or results based on an area of interest
Some platforms require you to log in to be able to download or print from the book.
To sign up, use your ECU email and create a password different from your ECU log in. This account will not be stored or controlled by ECU.
ECU Library catalogue: What type of resource do I have?
The ECU Library catalogue (Library Search) provides details on our holdings and information on how to access the item.
There are two key details that you need to be aware of when accessing the resource:
- Is it a digital resource or physical resource?
- What database or platform is it on?
All of these notes will be found when clicking through to the main record and going to the bottom of the record (before the "Browse the Shelf" section).
These will be different access notes depending on the type of resources. Here are some of the notes for some of the common resources that you may be using.
Print books and ebooks are shown with the location of where the book can be accessed. For titles with both physical and digital copies you will be able to find the digital copy linked on the physical copy's record.
Let's use this book as an example: https://ecu.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1226075896
From the Access Options panel on the top right we know it is available at ECU. We see this is available in 2 formats: Print book and ebook.
Physical resource availability
This field will tell you how many print copies we have, where they are, what its call number is, and, if it is out on loan, when it will next be available. For this title we have two print copies at Joondalup: one in the Main Collection and one in High Use
Digital resource availability (Access online)
This is where the digital copy is. In this box it will tell you where you are going to be accessing the book from. This book will be accessed "via ProQuest Ebook Central Provider". To access the book click on the View ebook link.
Access conditions for ejournals are much the same as ebooks, and are also displayed on print records if we have them.
Let's use this journal as an example: https://ecu.on.worldcat.org/oclc/43738094
Physical resource availability
This is what print or physical copies we hold. The Status note are the volumes and years of this journal that is available on the shelf. For this journal we have volume 25-31 in Joondalup.
Digital resource availability (Access Online)
This will tell you which database(s) or collections we have access to for articles from this journal. Here we can see that the journal has changed its name in 2000 and so the library catalogue has provided two entries.
From this we can see we have access to both journals through Wiley Online Library:
- Austral Ecology vis John Wiley and Sons Provider
- Under the name Austral Ecology we have the journal spanning from February 2000 to present.
- This started from volume 25 issue 1.
- Australian Journal of Ecology via John Wiley and Sons Provider
- Under the name Australian Journal of Ecology we have access to the journal from March 1996 to December 1999
- This includes volumes 21 issue 1 to volume 24 issue 6.
Click on Access Journal for the database that you want to access it on. If you want to look for a specific article through the journal make sure to compare the coverage stated and the volume and issue that your article is published in. This should be noted in the journal article reference.